Pulp stones following orthodontic treatment: a case-control study

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyze the incidence of pulp stones (PS) after orthodontic treatment. With a case-control design, 49 patients from a private orthodontic clinic in Curitiba, PR, Brazil, of both sexes, aged between 14 and 26 years, undergoing orthodontic intervention between the years 2000 and 2020, participated. Premolars and molars were analyzed from initial and final panoramic radiographs. Demographic and clinical data were collected from the patients’ medical records. After the initial descriptive analysis, followed by the t test for independent samples, the Chi-square test was applied to search for possible associations between the explanatory variables and the outcome of interest (post-treatment PS). Values with a significant difference were those with p < 0.05. Nineteen cases and 30 controls participated, namely 26 men and 23 women. There was no difference between groups for the age (p = 0.114) and treatment time (p = 0.204). Significant differences did not occur between cases and controls in association with the other variables (p > 0.05). In conclusion, there was no increase in PS incidence after orthodontic treatment in the sample studied.