| Title |
No Significant Differences in Long-Term Periodontal Health Status of Adults Who Have Undergone Orthodontic Treatment During Adolescence Versus Those Who Have Not |
| Clinical Question |
Are patients who undergo comprehensive orthodontic treatment during adolescence more susceptible to alveolar bone loss during adulthood compared to those who do not undergo orthodontic treatment? |
| Clinical Bottom Line |
During orthodontic treatment there is increased risk of periodontal disease and alveolar bone loss in comparison to non-orthodontic patients, but there are no significant differences in the long term periodontal health of patients who had orthodontic treatment in adolescence versus those who had no orthodontic treatment. |
| Best Evidence |
|
| PubMed ID |
Author / Year |
Patient Group |
Study type
(level of evidence) |
| 6943936 | Sadowsky/1981 | N=199 adults (n=96 post-orthodontic treatment, n=103 controls) | Comparative Study | | Key results | There was no statistically significant difference in the general prevalence of periodontal disease between the post-orthodontic and control groups. However, the study revealed that, in comparison to the control group, the orthodontic group had a greater prevalence of mild to moderate periodontal disease in the maxillary posterior and mandibular anterior regions of the mouth. Overall, the results suggested that orthodontic treatment in adolescence is not a major factor in determining the long-term periodontal health status. | | 3422121 | Polson/1988 | N=223 adults (n=112 patient >10 yrs post-orthodontic therapy; n=111 w/ untreated malocclusion) | Comparative Study | | Key results | The patients who had orthodontic therapy were of mean age 29 +/- 4.2 years; the untreated patients had a mean age of 32.9 +/- 6.5 years. Age differences affected the comparison between the groups, so the groups were balanced for age and analyses. The results showed no significant differences between the groups. There were no major effects on periodontal health for persons who had completed orthodontic therapy or not.
| |
| Evidence Search |
("time"[MeSH Terms] OR "time"[All Fields] OR ("long"[All Fields] AND "term"[All Fields] AND "effects"[All Fields]) OR "long term effects"[All Fields]) AND orthodontic[All Fields] AND ("therapy"[Subheading] OR "therapy"[All Fields] OR "treatment"[All Fields] OR "therapeutics"[MeSH Terms] OR "therapeutics"[All Fields]) |
Comments on
The Evidence |
In the Polson study, there was an age discrepancy between the orthodontic versus the non-orthodontic group. In the Sadowsky study, they only enrolled Caucasians. A strength of these studies was that they matched controls to orthodontic patients so that the two groups were as similar as possible. The retrospective nature of both of these studies is a limitation. |
| Applicability |
These findings may be useful in an orthodontic clinic if a patient is inquiring whether orthodontic treatment will have negative long-term effects. |
| Specialty |
(Orthodontics) (Periodontics) |
| Keywords |
orthodontic treatment, alveolar bone loss, peridontitis
|
| ID# |
2898 |
| Date of submission |
04/09/2015 |
| E-mail |
mcintyrer@livemail.uthscsa.edu |
| Author |
Reuel McIntyre |
| Co-author(s) |
|
| Co-author(s) e-mail |
|
| Faculty mentor |
Peter Gakunga, BDS, MS, PhD |
| Faculty mentor e-mail |
gakunga@uthscsa.edu |
| |
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Basic Science Rationale
(Mechanisms that may account for and/or explain the clinical question, i.e. is the answer to the clinical question consistent with basic biological, physical and/or behavioral science principles, laws and research?) |
| None available | |
 |
Comments and Evidence-Based Updates on the CAT
(FOR PRACTICING DENTISTS', FACULTY, RESIDENTS and/or STUDENTS COMMENTS ON PUBLISHED CATs) |
| None available | |