Halitosis With Fixed Orthodontic Appliance vs Removable Orthodontic Aligners: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Introduction: Halitosis is a widespread condition and is a big handicap for the patients. Most adults suffer from bad breath, an estimated 10-30 percent of the USA population, and this may lead to personal discomfort and social disagreement. Furthermore, some authors estimate that approximately 50% of the middle-aged and older individuals emit socially unacceptable breath, especially in the morning, which can be attributed to physiological causes. Methodology: For the purposes of this study 10 patients with aligners (aligners grup -AG) and 10 patients with fixed orthodontic appliance (fixed group -FG) were selected. This experiment aims to detect the presence of halitosis with a gaschromatograph (OralChroma™). The machine analyzes the air sample and provides results in 8 minutes by creating a graphic that shows the amount of 3 volatile sulfur compounds. Results: The values measured by the gascromatograph show a significant difference between the two groups. We also considered the average values of both groups. The averages confirm the difference between AG and FG group (FG average > AG average) in all three values. Conclusion: This study is only a pilot study and should be expanded in order to produce more consistent results, but we can already assert that the possibility to remove the oral device certainly provides a better outcome for oral hygiene procedures and, consequently, improves the halitosis condition. In conclusion we can consider oral hygiene and halitosis as important factors in order to decide what kind of orthodontic device is better suited for the single patient.