Class III treatment can be divided into two categories: Orthopedic treatment for
developing Class III malocclusions in growing patients and camouflage/surgical treatment
for non-growing Class III patients. Recently, several articles have described on the use of
temporary anchorage devices (TADs) for protracting the maxilla in developing Class III
patients [1, 2]. The application of TADs can maximize the skeletal response of maxillary
protraction and minimize the side effects such as dentoalveolar protrusion. TADs can be
placed in the inter-proximal alveolar bone, with attachment to a tooth-born protraction
device, or can be used directly in the form of a mini-plate for maxillary protraction. In adult
patients, Class III malocclusion either is camouflaged by orthodontic tooth movement or is
treated in combination with orthognathic surgery. The use of TADs has narrowed the gap
between the two types of treatment modalities because it has expanded the range of
orthodontic camouflage treatment. In camouflage treatment, a Class III relationship is
usually corrected via differential tooth movement of the upper and lower dentition with
premolar extraction. In non-extraction treatment, the anterior movement of the upper
dentition and/or posterior movement of the lower dentition can be used to correct the Class
III relationship. In this chapter, the authors will focus on the anchorage consideration in
treatment of Class III malocclusion with extraction of the lower premolars and nonextraction
with distalization of the lower dentition. In addition, an adult cleft palate case is
presented in which maxillary expansion was reinforced by the use of TADs. The
application of TADs for decompensation in Class III surgery cases is also discussed.
Keywords: Class III camouflage treatment, Temporary Anchorage Devices
(TADs), Extraction treatment, Non-extraction treatment.
