Mesial Stripping of Mandibular Deciduous Canines for Correction of Permanent Lateral Incisors

AIM: Stripping is a technique of creating space for correction of crowding by interproximal enamel reduction. This study sought to assess the efficacy of mesial stripping of mandibu-lar deciduous canines for correction of rotated and lingually erupted lateral incisors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This clinical trial was performed on 42 patients with <3 mm mandibular anterior crowding. The required space was determined using the Moyers’ method and 3 mm of canine mesial surfaces was removed using a bur. Alginate impressions were made and the correction of crowding was evaluated until 5 months after the treatment. Data were analyzed using Fisher’s exact, Kruskal-Wallis, and Mann-Whitney U tests. RESULTS: Mesial stripping of canines completely removed the crowding of anterior teeth; however; in a few cases, this correction was not complete, in which, the amount of space required was calculated to be near zero. Patient gender and occlusal relations had no significant effect on the correction of crowding; however, the amount of space required was significantly affected by the position of left lateral incisors (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Mesial stripping of deciduous canines is an effective technique to remove <3 mm crowding of buccally and lingually erupted permanent lateral incisors. Thus, stripping is recommended for space regaining and crowding correction. HOW TO CITE THIS ARTICLE: Nakhjavani YB, Nakhjavani FB, Jafari A. Mesial Stripping of Mandibular Deciduous Canines for Correction of Permanent Lateral Incisors. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2017;10(3):229-233.