Case Study

Orthodontics and Occlusion - T-Scan as Part of an Essential Toolkit

This recent case study, authored by Dr. Hoon Kim (DDS, MSD, Diplomate, ABO), shows how T-Scan became his tool of choice to track his patient’s occlusion following an orthognathic procedure.

Dr. Hoon Kim A 23-year-old male came to my dental office with an unrelenting issue. Upon examination, Dr. Kim identified several problematic factors:

Facial asymmetry
Clicking of the right condyle
Bilateral pain to palpation in the masseter and internal pterygoid muscles
A mandibular shift during opening and closing,
A limited mouth opening of 35 mm, and
Bruxism

This patient demonstrated an internal disk displacement with reduction, which informed my decision to establish orthopedic stability before initiating orthodontic treatment. He underwent three months of splint therapy, which successfully achieved orthopedic stability, eliminating the clicking sounds and pain upon muscle palpation. He could open and close his mandible without deviation, and the maximum opening increased to greater than 50 mm.

After he completed splint therapy, we took another set of measurements and determined comprehensive orthodontic treatment was necessary...