Published online May 26, 2022. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i15.5088
Peer-review started: December 17, 2021
First decision: February 8, 2022
Revised: February 9, 2022
Accepted: March 26, 2022
Article in press: March 26, 2022
Published online: May 26, 2022
Clear aligners have been widely used to treat malocclusions from crowding, extraction cases to orthodontic-orthognathic cases, and practitioners are exploring the border of it. For the first time, clear aligners were used to early intervene anterior cross-bite and facial asymmetry.
This case report described a four-year-old child presented with anterior cross-bite and facial asymmetry associated with functional mandibular shift, who had undergone a failed treatment with conventional appliances. The total treatment time was 18 weeks, and a stable outcome was obtained.
The increasing need in early treatment highlights the need for clinicians to thoroughly investigate for the patient regarding clinical manifestation as well as patient compliance. We hope that our case will be contemplated by clinicians when seeking for treatment alternatives.
Core Tip: The early treatment for children with anterior cross-bite and facial asymmetry has been widely accepted, while patient cooperation has remained the number one challenge for clinicians. After thorough investigation and planned, we initially applied clear aligner therapy on a four-year-old patient with anterior cross-bite and facial asymmetry. Successful outcome was achieved and remained stable in a 3-year follow-up at the age of 8 in the mix dentition phase. In this manuscript, every detail of our case was discussed.