Prevalence of Caries Secondary to the Orthodontic Treatment in Patients Visiting a Private Dental Hospital-A Retrospective Study

Introduction: Orthodontic treatment involving fixed appliance is a long term process. This treatment has a maximum risk of development of caries as proper oral hygiene maintenance would not be noticed. This increases the number of streptococcus mutans and lactobacillus which would form a biofilm. The armamentarium used in this treatment like molar band, brackets etc. are plaque stagnant areas, which over a period of time leads to caries, gingivitis etc. Thus, proper oral hygiene should be maintained by patients.

Aim: The main objective of the study is to assess the prevalence of caries secondary to the orthodontic treatment in patients visiting a private dental hospital.

Materials and Methods: A descriptive study which was performed under a university setting where all the patients reported to Private Dental college and hospital, Chennai. The data was collected by reviewing patients records and analysed the data of 140 patients who underwent orthodontic appliance treatment between May 2019- December 2020. The population size of the study was found to be n=80. Data was collected, tabulated, statistical analysis was done using SPSS- IBM.

Results and Discussion: From the statistical analysis, it is observed that the total number of caries that could be seen after the orthodontic appliance treatment was more in males (58.23% ) when compared to females and the most commonly affected age is between 18-25 years with 49.37%. Moreover, the common tooth that affected were molars with 49.37%.

Conclusion: Within the limitations of the current study, it is found that molars are the most commonly affected teeth and the age group which is affected the most is between 18-25 years. Thus, it is the imperative for dentists to provide preventive resin restorations, fluoride varnish and also proper instructions for maintenance of oral hygiene during the orthodontic treatment.