Maintaining periodontal health in patients undergoing orthodontic treatment

Abstract

Presence of fixed orthodontic appliances in the mouth leads to accumulation of food debris and an elevation in the amount of plaque. It also hinders plaque removal by tooth brushing alone. Chemical agents may be used during the active phase of orthodontic treatment to reduce the bacterial plaque accumulation and decrease the occurrence of periodontal disease in these patients. The present study was therefore done to compare the efficacy of chemical plaque control by chlorhexidiene in patients undergoing orthodontic treatment. Forty five subjects for this double blind study were assigned randomly into three groups of 15 each. Gingival inflammation, plaque accumulation, and bleeding on probing, were recorded at baseline (10 days after prophylaxis), and at the end of one month in all the three groups. The data obtained was subjected to stastical analysis. Anova test showed significant difference among all the three groups for bleeding index, modified gingival index and plaque index. Paired t test showed significant differences in bleeding index for pre and post treatment recordings for chlorhexidine group. Modified gingival index showed significant difference in the chlorhexidine group. For plaque index significant difference was found for chlorhexidine, and control groups. Chlorhexidine mouthrinse 0.12% was found to be the most effective in reducing the bleeding scores, modified gingival index scores and the plaque index scores. It can therefore be said that chlorhexidine mouthrinse 0.12% provides greater benefits to the patients undergoing fixed orthodontic treatment.