Dento - skeletal Class III malocclusion in growing patients is one of the most challenging problems in orthodontics due to the difficult stability of long-term outcomes. Currently, more detailed diagnosis and predictable prognosis are required to set up individualized treatment planning for each young patient. An early therapeutic approach has been widely approved by many authors during the last decades for many reasons involving above all aesthetics and psychological issues which represent the key points of its rationale. Over the years, several alternatives have been developed, however the data on long-term stability are still few. Thus, this presentation will specifically focus on short- and long-term outcomes in children treated with the SEC III protocol, which is composed by Splints, class III Elastics, and the Chincup. A thorough analysis will be provided regarding the efficacy of these methods, their aesthetic benefits, and the long-term stability of the treatment results.


Learning Objectives
After this lecture, you will be able to understand the rationale of the early treatment in growing patients with class III malocclusions.
After this lecture, you will be able to assess the current perspective and evidence-based information in the prognosis of early treatment outcomes in patients with Class III malocclusions.
After this lecture, you will be able to evaluate the short- and long-term stability of the SEC III protocols in hypo- and hyper-divergent class III malocclusions compared to control groups.