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Periodontal health of anterior teeth with two types of fixed retainers
Andrew I Corbett1, V Leroy Leggitt2, Nikola Angelov3
1a Private practice, Ukiah, Calif.
Objective:
To compare the periodontal health of maxillary and mandibular anterior teeth retained with two types of fixed retainers.
Materials And Methods:
A fixed straight retainer (SR) group had 39 subjects, and a fixed wave retainer (WR) group had 35 subjects. Subjects were between the ages of 13 and 22 years and had been in fixed retention for 2 to 4 years. Pocket probing depths, bleeding on probing, plaque index, calculus index, recession, and gingival crevicular fluid volume were compared between the two retainer groups. A four-question oral hygiene survey was given to each subject. The Mann-Whitney U-test and Fisher exact test was used to analyze the data.
Results:
There was no clinically significant difference between the retainer groups regarding plaque index, gingival crevicular fluid volume, calculus index, recession, bleeding on probing, and pocket probing depths. A statistically significant increase in the reported frequency of flossing (P = .006) and ease of flossing (P < .001) was associated with the WR group. There was no significant difference between the groups in reported frequency of brushing and comfort of the retainer.
Conclusions:
Under the conditions of this study, no clinical difference was found in the periodontal health of anterior teeth retained with a SR or WR for a period of 2 to 4 years. Subjects in the WR group reported an increase in frequency and ease of flossing.
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