Periodontal status following the alignment of buccally ectopic maxillary canine teeth

Twenty-nine patients who had completed orthodontic treatment to resolve buccal displacement of maxillary canine teeth were examined 2.9 years (mean) after all appliances had been discarded. Thirteen of these patients had unilateral displacement, and sixteen were bilaterally affected. In the unilateral cases only the width of attached gingiva was significantly less than in the controls. In the bilateral cases the same observation was made, but here the gingival index and pocket depth also showed statistically significant increases, although the expression of these values was found to have doubtful clinical significance. Posttreatment periodontal assessment is recommended for these cases.