TITLE:
Oral Hygiene in the Presence of Orthodontic Therapy
AUTHORS:
Emmanuel John Aryeetey, Hicham Benyahia, Fatima Zaoui
KEYWORDS:
Orthodontic Treatment, Oral Microbiome, Oral Hygiene, Periodontitis, Gingivitis, Orthodontic Fixed Appliances, Orthodontic Removable Appliances, White Spot Lesions (WSL)
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Biosciences and Medicines,
Vol.12 No.2,
February
7,
2024
ABSTRACT: Orthodontic treatment offers great advantages in improving facial and smile aesthetics, self-confidence and the function of the stomatognathic apparatus. The pursuit of these advantages makes use of orthodontic appliances that could be fixed or removable. However, it’s worth stating that these appliances interfere with tooth brushing, making it more difficult to brush teeth effectively. Orthodontics appliances therefore promote the accumulation of dental plaque, which results in both quantitative and qualitative changes in the oral microbiota, hence, exposing patients to several adverse effects such as White spot lesions, dental caries, periodontal pathologies and halitosis. For this reason, oral assessment of patients before, during and after treatment is necessary as well as oral hygiene instructions and motivation. Orthodontists therefore, should educate patients on oral and periodontal hygiene in order to control dental and periodontal complications. Prescriptions of plaque control materials adapted to each patient are done in order to optimize the final result and minimize unwanted complications.