ASSOCIATION BETWEEN MANDIBULAR ANTERIOR CROWDING AND PREVALENCE OF GINGIVAL RECESSION IN ORTHODONTICS PATIENTS

Abstract

Purpose: The aims of this study were 1) to determine if there is an association between the degree of mandibular anterior teeth crowding prior to orthodontic treatment and the development/progression of gingival recession during treatment and measured at the completion of orthodontic treatment; 2) to explore mucogingival abnormalities and conditions in relation to the severity of crowding and its effect on recession development during orthodontic treatment. Method: Four hundred sixty-nine subjects with pretreatment dental casts, pretreatment and post-treatment clinical photographs, and one hundred sixty-nine of those subjects with cone beam computed Tomography (CBCT) were retrospectively evaluated from the existing database at the University of Oklahoma Health Science Center (OUHSC) College of Dentistry, taken between 2007-2022. Little’s Irregularity index was measured on pre-treatment dental casts. Clinical photographs before and after orthodontic treatment were calibrated and analyzed for recession, keratinized tissue (KT) width, and oral hygiene (OH) at the mandibular six anterior teeth. Bone height and bone thickness at three points apicocoronally were measured on the same teeth in a convenience sample of CBCTs. Results: There was no significant association between the degree of crowding prior to orthodontic treatment and recession at the end of orthodontic treatment (P >0.05). Subjects with premolar extraction are less likely to develop recession (P = 0.005) as are subjects with good oral hygiene prior to orthodontic treatment (P = 0.015) Conclusion: The degree of crowding is not associated with recession development or progression after orthodontic treatment. Other factors not associated with recession include class of malocclusion, gender, age, buccal bone height and width, and lack of KT. Factors significantly associated are premolar extraction and oral hygiene prior to orthodontic treatment.