Primary prevention of the main dental diseases in children at different stages of orthodontic treatment with bracket systems

Aim. Evaluation of the effective preventive methods of dental caries in children with dentoalveolar anomalies.

Methods. Orthodontic treatment was received by 50 children aged 12-14 years with dentoalveolar anomalies who were treated by an orthodontist using ligature bracket and who had a compensated form of dental caries before the beginning of the hardware treatment. In the first group of children (control, 25 subjects) professional oral hygiene twice a year was followed by the coating of all teeth with fluoride. Children of the second group (25 subjects) after professional oral hygiene twice a year had their teeth covered with tooth enamel around brackets with Clinpro XT Varnish (3M ESPE) material containing fluorine, calcium and phosphate compounds. Dental examination every three months included assessment of oral hygiene and the state of the gums, the presence of carious defects, fillings and removed teeth, followed by the calculation of the main dental indices.

Results. On the basis of studies of the dental status in children undergoing orthodontic treatment using brackets, the main dental indices such as DCF (decay/missing/filled), complex periodontal index, papillary-marginal-alveolar index were characterized at the stages of treatment. The analysis of the recorded values was performed in the comparison groups for each research method and the main statistically significant differences were identified. The study revealed that children from group 2 had positive dynamics of the state of periodontium within 18 months: the value of papillary-marginal-alveolar index among children from group 2 decreased by 5.4 times, the value of complex periodontal index decreased by 3.5 times. Children from group 2 had a significantly lower incidence of caries compared to the control group after 18 months of remineralizing therapy: the increase of complex periodontal index among children receiving orthodontic treatment with Clinpro XT Varnish coverage twice a year was only 1.42±0.16, incidence of caries of teeth surface reduced by 55%.

Conclusion. On the basis of these studies, a comparative characteristics of the dental indices was performed at the stages of treatment using the brackets, depending on the used primary preventive measures; dental status of children at the stages of orthodontic treatment have their features: special oral hygiene tools should be guided by hygiene indices and complemented by remineralizing drugs.