Profiling of subgingival plaque biofilm microbiota in adolescents after completion of orthodontic therapy.
BACKGROUND
Fixed orthodontic treatment is the most common method for malocclusion but has the potential risk of periodontal complication with unclear outcomes of whether microbiologic and clinical changes could be reversible in adolescents after orthodontic therapy.


METHODS
Twenty adolescents with orthodontic treatment were enrolled in the study as the case group at end of the therapy, while 19 periodontally healthy adolescents were involved in the control group. At baseline (T0), clinical parameters including gingival index, probing depth and sulcus bleeding index were tested, and subgingival plaque samples were collected from the lower incisors. The counts of A. actinomycetemcomitans, P. gingivalis, P. intermedia, T. forsythia and total bacteria were determined by real-time PCR. All parameters were reassessed after 1 month (T1) and 3 months (T2) in the case group and compared with that of the controls.


RESULTS
At baseline (T0), clinical parameters (including GI, PD, SBI) of the test sites in the case group were significantly higher than that of the control group (P<0.05 or P<0.01). At 3 months (T2), no differences were noticed in GI and SBI between two groups. The prevalence and counts of periodontopathogens tend to be normal (P>0.05), while PD and the amount of P.intermedia were still significantly higher compared with that of the control group (P<0.05 or P<0.01).


CONCLUSIONS
After removal of appliances, the periodontal changes induced by orthodontic therapy are only partially reversible at 3 months after removal.
Department of Orthodontics, School of Stomatology, Shandong University, Jinan, China.|Department of Orthodontics, Jinan Stomatological Hospital, Jinan, China.
Shuang
S
Pan
Pediatric Research Institute, Qilu Children's Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, China.
Yi
Y
Liu
Department of Orthodontics, Jinan Stomatological Hospital, Jinan, China.
Li
L
Zhang
Department of Stomatology, Hospital of Zhangqiu, Jinan, China.
Shuxiang
S
Li
Department of Orthodontics, Jinan Stomatological Hospital, Jinan, China.
Yujie
Y
Zhang
Department of Orthodontics, Jinan Stomatological Hospital, Jinan, China.
Jianwei
J
Liu
Department of Orthodontics, School of Stomatology, Shandong University, Jinan, China.
Chunling
C
Wang
Department of Orthodontics, Jinan Stomatological Hospital, Jinan, China.|Department of Oral Medicine, Shandong Medical College, Jinan, China.
Shuiqing
S
Xiao
D000293:Adolescent; D001419:Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D018441:Biofilms; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003773:Dental Plaque / Q000382:microbiology*; D005260:Female; D005881:Gingiva / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D064307:Microbiota; D016910:Orthodontic Brackets / Q000382:microbiology*; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction