PENGARUH PEMAKAIAN REMOVABLE SPACE MAINTAINER SEBAGAI ALAT PREVENTIVE ORTHODONTIA TERHADAP PERTUMBUHAN RAHANG ATAS PADA USIA ANAK

Background: Premature loss of primary teeth in children who are not treated can cause space narrowing that can affect masticatory function and malocclusion. This can be prevented by preventive orthodontic treatment using a space maintainer. The type of space maintainer in this study is a removable space maintainer with a double tube modification which is assumed to be able to follow the growth of the child's jaw. The effect of space maintainer appliance on maxillary growth in childhood needs to be investigated because the treatment is carried out when the child is in the mixed dentition period and maxillary growth and development are ongoing. Aim: This study aims to determine the effect of removable space maintainer usage as preventive orthodontic appliance on maxillary growth in pediatric patients based on inter-canine, inter-molar, and inter-tube measurements at the Dental and Oral Hospital of Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta. Research Methods: The 35-research sample was collected by taking secondary data consisted of inter-canine, inter-molar, and inter-tube measurements before and after treatment from the patient's medical record and the final report treatment of pediatric patients with removable space maintainer treatment. Data were statistically analyzed using the Wilcoxon test on SPSS. Result: The average results before and after removable space maintainer treatment on maxilla are 31.96 mm and 33.26 mm on the inter-canine; 43.47 mm and 44.78 mm on inter-molar; 0.61 mm and 1.19 mm on inter-tube. From these data, the average value of inter-canine, inter-molar, and inter-tube distances is 1.53 mm; 1.31 mm; and 0.58 mm. The results of data analysis showed that there was an effect of removable space maintainer usage as preventive orthodontic appliance on maxillary growth in childhood with a significant value (p<0.05). Conclusion: There is an effect of removable space maintainer usage as preventive orthodontic appliance on maxillary growth in childhood based on increase in width of inter-canine, inter-molar, and inter-tube size