Prevention of oral diseases during orthodontic treatment

AIM: Patients receiving orthodontic treatment are more prone to oral diseases due to increased biofi lm accumulation by expanding plaque retention sites. Inadequate tooth brushing may lead gingival infl ammation and dental caries. The aim was to evaluate the changes in patients’ oral hygiene during the orthodontic treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study enrolled 291 patients aged 10-17 year old attending Department of Orthodontics (LSMU Hospital) in Kaunas, Lithuania. The Bioethics Center of the LSMU approved the study (No. BEC-OF-14). Patients were asked to complete an anonymous self-administered questionnaire before the appointment. Participation was voluntary and anonymous; thus, the return of completed questionnaire was considered as acceptance to participate. Statistical data analysis was performed using SPSS 22 version. Statistical evaluation was by means of Chi-squared tests and the univariate logistic regression analysis, including odds ratio (OR) and its confi dence interval (95%CI). P-value ≤0.05 was set to indicate statistically signifi cant differences. RESULTS: The mean age among participants was 12.98 (SD=2.36) years. Girls (56.8%) prevailed in the study (p = 0.397). 61.6% of participants reported brushing their teeth at least twice a day. Comparing to patients non-receiving orthodontic treatment, adolescents receiving orthodontic treatment tended to clean the tongue (OR=1.712 [1.059-2.767], p=0.028) and to rinse the mouth after the meal (OR=1.707 [1.048-2.781], p=0.032). More patients receiving orthodontic visited dental hygienist to perform professional oral hygiene than patients of control group (45.5% vs. 31.5%, p=0.024). Considering the type of orthodontic treatment, signifi cantly more patients with fi xed appliances reported about major changes in oral hygiene habits than patients with removable appliances (36.4% vs. 15.0%, p=0.002). CONCLUSIONS: More patients with fi xed orthodontic appliances signifi cantly changed oral hygiene habits than ones with removable orthodontic appliances. Moreover, patients undergoing orthodontic treatment tended to visit dental hygienist more regularly. These patients were encouraged to receive oral hygiene instructions regularly.