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Observational Study
. 2025 Dec 17;26(1):132.
doi: 10.1186/s12903-025-07534-6.

Effects of previous orthodontic treatment on periodontal status of patients in long-term supportive periodontal care

Sarah K Sonnenschein  1 , Alexander-Nicolaus Spies  2 , Christopher Büsch  3 , Sinclair Awounvo  3 , Sinan Şen  4   5 , Ti-Sun Kim  1
Affiliations
Observational Study

Effects of previous orthodontic treatment on periodontal status of patients in long-term supportive periodontal care

Sarah K Sonnenschein et al. BMC Oral Health. .

Abstract

Background: While many German children and young adults receive orthodontic treatment (OTx), the number of patients requiring periodontal treatment is increasing due to demographic changes. Investigating the long-term effects of orthodontic treatment on periodontal health, particularly in patients developing periodontitis, is therefore of public health interest. Primary aim was to evaluate whether an anamnestic history of OTx affects the progression of periodontal parameters over a ten-year period of supportive periodontal care (SPC). Additionally, the study aimed to determine whether orthodontic treatment need in SPC patients correlates with periodontal and dental parameters change during the preceding ten years of SPC.

Methods: Sixty periodontitis patients with ten years (± six months) of SPC received digital intraoral scans during cross-sectional SPC follow-up examination (T1). Patients' previous orthodontic treatment (POT) or no treatment (NOT) was recorded. The Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (IOTN) at T1 was assessed. Dental and periodontal parameters were recorded and compared with retrospective data from ten years (± six months) earlier (T0). The association between changes in clinical attachment levels (CAL T0-T1) and treatment group (POT/NOT) was analysed (multiple linear regression). Spearman correlation between IOTN and clinical parameters change was assessed.

Results: The change in parameters from T0 to T1 was as follows (POT: n = 24 patients, NOT: n = 36 patients): Mean tooth loss: 0.92 ± 1.74 vs. 0.64 ± 0.90; Mean probing pocket depth: -0.03 ± 0.33 mm vs. 0.05 ± 0.51 mm; Mean CAL: 0.11 ± 0.59 mm vs. 0.09 ± 0.66 mm. No association was found between CAL change and treatment group. Only a negligible correlation between IOTN and changes in dental, periodontal, and oral hygiene parameters was found.

Conclusions: Patients with successfully treated periodontitis, both with and without a history of orthodontic treatment, show a high level of periodontal stability during long-term SPC and comparable orthodontic conditions.

Trial registration: Clinical trial registration number on the German clinical trials register: DRKS00011316 (Registration date 17th November 2016).

Keywords: Dental aesthetics; Malocclusion; Orthodontics; Supportive periodontal care; Three-Dimensional images.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board for Human Studies of the Medical Faculty of Heidelberg (#S-132/2014, amendment confirmed: 11th August 2020). Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Application of the inclusion and exclusion criteria for the study cohort. n, number of patients; NOT, no orthodontic treatment; POT, previous orthodontic treatment; SPC, supportive periodontal care; T0, retrospective baseline examination ten years (± six months) prior to T1; T1, follow-up examination
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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