English

Abstract

BACKGROUND Temporary bite opening with occlusal composite is performed routinely during orthodontic treatment of patients with deep bite and cross bite. There have been no studies yet to assess its effect on periodontium. This study was done to assess the effect of temporary bite-raising on periodontium when placed on the mandibular molars. METHODS A prospective clinical trial which was a pilot study conducted on fifteen subjects attending the Department of Orthodontics, Saveetha Dental College and Hospitals, (SIMATS), Chennai. Probing depth and pain score on percussion were recorded bilaterally on subjects with class 1 malocclusion, before and after placing bite blocks in the posterior teeth. The bite-raising was done using light cured orthodontic composite Blu BiteTM on both mandibular first molars. Probing depth was measured using a Williams probe at mesiobuccal, mid-buccal and distobuccal sites on molars and pain score on percussion was recorded using visual analogue scale. The pocket probing, before (T0) and after one month of temporary bite-raising (T1) was recorded and statistically analysed using paired t test and Wilcoxon sign rank test based on normality of variables. RESULTS There was a significant increase in the mean probing depth after bite raising with a mean difference of 1.07 ± 0.04 (P = 0.000). The mean pain score also significantly increased after temporary bite-raising (P = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS There were minor yet significant changes in the periodontium that occurred after temporary bite rising with Blu BiteTM. KEY WORDS Composite Resin, Periodontium, Occlusal Force, Orthodontic Adhesive, Visual Analogue Pain Scale