{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,29]],"date-time":"2025-10-29T13:53:16Z","timestamp":1761745996122,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":53,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"11","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,28]],"date-time":"2025-10-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1761609600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Bioengineering"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Predicting treatment outcomes in Class III protraction therapy remains challenging. Although finite element analysis (FEA) helps in the study of biomechanics and planning of orthodontic treatment, its use in Class III protraction has mainly been in evaluating appliance designs rather than patient-specific anatomy. The predictive accuracy of FEA has not been validated in Class III protration therapy. In this study, ten patients (5 female, 5 male, aged 7\u201311 years) with Class III malocclusion received either facemask or mentoplate treatment. CT scans from four patients were used to construct simplified finite element models, and predictions were compared with one-year treatment outcomes from six additional patients. While stress patterns differed between treatments, patient-specific geometrical factors had a more significant impact on deformation than treatment type. FEM-predicted maxillary changes (mean: 0.352 \u00b1 0.12 mm) were approximately one-tenth of actual changes (mean: 1.612 \u00b1 0.64 mm), with no significant correlation. Current FEM approaches, though useful for understanding force distribution, cannot reliably predict clinical outcomes in growing Class III patients. The findings suggest that successful prediction models must incorporate biological and growth factors beyond pure biomechanics. Accurate prediction of treatment outcomes requires comprehensive models that integrate multiple biological and developmental factors.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/bioengineering12111173","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,28]],"date-time":"2025-10-28T17:02:01Z","timestamp":1761670921000},"page":"1173","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Evaluating the Predictive Potential of Patient-Specific Biomechanical Models in Class III Protraction Therapy"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8702-6144","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Joeri","family":"Meyns","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, General Hospital St-Jan, 3600 Genk, Belgium"},{"name":"OMFS-IMPATH Research Group, Department of Imaging and Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium"},{"name":"Department of Medicine and Life Sciences, Hasselt University, 3500 Hasselt, Belgium"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Wout","family":"Vertenten","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Biomechanics Section, Department of Mechanical Engineering, KU Leuven, 3001 Leuven, Belgium"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6250-2650","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sohaib","family":"Shujaat","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"OMFS-IMPATH Research Group, Department of Imaging and Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium"},{"name":"King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, College of Dentistry, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh 11481, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Sofie","family":"Van Cauter","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine and Life Sciences, Hasselt University, 3500 Hasselt, Belgium"},{"name":"Department of Medical Imaging, General Hospital St-Jan, 3600 Genk, Belgium"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Constantinus","family":"Politis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"OMFS-IMPATH Research Group, Department of Imaging and Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5100-6558","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jos","family":"Vander Sloten","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Biomechanics Section, Department of Mechanical Engineering, KU Leuven, 3001 Leuven, Belgium"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3461-0363","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Reinhilde","family":"Jacobs","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"OMFS-IMPATH Research Group, Department of Imaging and Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium"},{"name":"Department of Dental Medicine, Karolinska Institute, 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"28","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ajodo.2016.07.017","article-title":"Early orthodontic treatment for Class III malocclusion: A systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"151","author":"Woon","year":"2017","journal-title":"Am. 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