Oral hygiene and gingival status in orthodontic patients

The study was conducted to find out the plaque deposition and changes in the gingiva in patients under going orthodontic treatment with Fixed appliances, active removable appliances and with myofunctional appliances; taking 25 subjects in each group. A matching control of 25 dental students was taken for comparison. Findings reveal that though the plaque index and gingival index values in all treatment groups were higher than control group, but the values in all the 4 groups were found within the range of good oral hygiene i.e. less than 1.50 exhibiting that the orthodontic appliances whether fixed, active removable or Myofunctional would not affect oral hygiene or gingival health adversely if a proper oral hygiene instructions, were followed.