Debonding of orthodontic appliance changes salivary physicochemical properties and favors regression of active caries lesions: A 13‐week follow‐up study

Abstract

Aim This prospective cohort study aimed to investigate whether orthodontic appliance removal (OAR) combined with caries‐preventive strategies and fluoride varnish treatments alters salivary physicochemical properties, changes the activity of carbonic anhydrase VI (CA VIACT) and α‐amylase (α‐AMLACT), and favors the regression of active caries lesions (ACL). Design Twenty‐two individuals aged between 13 and 24 years were assessed for the presence of visible biofilm, daily sugar exposure, caries activity, salivary flow rate (SFR), pH, buffering capacity (BC), and CA VIACT and α‐AMLACT activity at baseline, and 1, 5, and 13 weeks after OAR. Variables were assessed using repeated‐measures analysis of variance, Cochran's Q and McNemar's test, and Pearson's correlation. Results We observed a significant decrease in the number of ACL at the 5‐week (29% reduction) and 13‐week follow‐ups (58% reduction). At the 5‐ and 13‐week follow‐ups, the percentage of visible biofilm and sugar exposure decreased, whereas the salivary pH and α‐AMLACT activity significantly increased. BC and CA VIACT remained unchanged throughout the follow‐up. Conclusion OAR combined with caries‐preventive strategies and fluoride varnish treatments favored the regression of ACL and increased salivary pH and α‐AMLACT activity, whereas BC and CA VIACT remained stable.

Comparison of Salivary parameters in Orthodontic Patients with good oral hygiene and bad oral hygiene

“…Various studies have shown results similar to us in which they found a reduction in pH and buffer capacity (Kanaya et al 2007;Teixeira et al 2012) . Some other studies showed that there was an improvement in these parameters and especially in patients having a high caries index, there was an improvement in pH and buffering capacity (Peros et al 2011) (Cardoso et al 2022;Chang, Walsh, and Freer 1997) . Some authors have suggested a gradual increase in the salivary parameters and after a few months due to the adaptation of patients to orthodontic appliances these parameters tend to return to normal.…”