Retention using braided bonded wires: a 2-year follow-up of the dentition and oral hygiene with predictors of relapse
Published Online: Nov 21, 2023
Page range: 113 - 122
Received: Feb 01, 2023
Accepted: Oct 01, 2023
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/aoj-2023-0030
© 2023 Silvija Kanizaj Ugrin et al., published by Sciendo
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Objective
To assess gingival health and predictors of relapse related to braided-wire bonded retainers after the active phase of comprehensive orthodontic treatment.
Materials and methods
Fifty-one subjects were recruited in a prospective study of whom 42 were available for analysis after 2 years of retention (pre-therapeutic ages 11–18 years; 66% female). A rectangular wire retainer (0.027 × 0.011″) was bonded to the mandibular incisors. Little’s index of incisor irregularity; intercanine width; the accumulation of biofilm, calculus and gingivitis; and the incidence of retainer detachment, were recorded. Subjects were examined before orthodontic therapy, upon therapy completion, and after 2 years of retention.
Results
The incidence of retainer detachment over the 2 years was 27%. The post-treatment incidence of irregularity was 17%, and intercanine width reduction was 24%. Calculus accumulation increased significantly during retention (
Conclusion
Post-treatment changes in the mandibular arch incorporating bonded retainers were not large, but were common. An increase in mandibular incisor irregularity during retention is mostly related to treatment-induced intercanine width expansion. The bonded retainer often detached and increased calculus accumulation.