Periodontal health in patients under conventional and lingual orthodontic therapies

AbstractObjectiveSome clinical periodontal health parameters were assessed comparatively in patients using conventional and lingual brackets.Material and methodA trained examiner registered the frequencies of visible plaque (VP), bleeding on probing (BOP), as well as the simplified oral hygiene (OHI-S) and modified gingival (MGI) indices in 83 subjects from two clinics. The effects of orthodontic treatments on periodontal health were analyzed using logistic regression (α = 0.05).ResultIn the conventional group, the frequency of visible plaque was significantly higher on the buccal surfaces of anterior (OR = 12.5) and maxillary posterior (OR = 3.6) teeth, p < 0.01. BOP in posterior teeth was also more frequent in this group, p < 0.05. The lingual group presented higher frequency of visible plaque on the lingual surfaces of anterior teeth (OR = 4.3; p = 0.0034). The conventional group had significantly higher frequencies of mild gingivitis in the buccal regions of anterior (OR = 9.0) and maxillary posterior (OR = 16.7) teeth, p < 0.05, and anterior papillae (OR = 9.0; p = 0.0003). On the other hand, the lingual group evidenced mild gingivitis more often in the lingual regions of anterior teeth (OR = 54.5), p < 0.01.ConclusionBased on the results of this study, the clinical periodontal health conditions may be considered acceptable for patients using both conventional and lingual brackets.