Abstract
Although the frequency of caries and prevalence of white spot lesions have increased in orthodontic patients, little effort has been made to reduce the risk of dental caries in orthodontic patients in Japan. This study determined the factors related to increased dental caries and enamel demineralization in patients with fixed orthodontic appliances using a simplified caries risk test. Forty-nine patients with fixed appliances were studied for at least 10 months. The chi-square test was used to assess differences in caries risk factors between the baseline and during orthodontic treatment. The significance of differences with regard to the incidence of caries or white spot lesions in each group was ascertained using the chi-square test. The Mutans streptococci (MS) and Lactobacillus (LB) scores were significantly higher during orthodontic treatment compared with the baseline (p<0.01). The incidence of caries was significantly correlated with higher MS and LB scores at the baseline (p=0.008). Moreover, the MS score during orthodontic treatment was significantly associated with increased white spot lesions (p=0.049). In conclusion, we could predict the incidence of caries and increase in white spot lesions by performing a caries risk test before and during orthodontic treatment. This caries risk test should benefit orthodontic patients.
