Braces Versus Invisalign®: Gingival Parameters and Patients' Satisfaction During Treatment: A Cross-sectional Study

A. Azaripour; J. Weusmann; B. Mahmoodi; D. Peppas; A. Gerhold-Ay; C. J. F. Van Noorden; B. Willershausen

BMC Oral Health. 2015;15(69)

Conclusions

Our primary hypothesis has been largely confirmed. Invisalign® patients have significantly better gingival health, whereas oral hygiene is not different between FOA patients and Invisalign® patients. Our second hypothesis that Invisalign® is superior for quality of life of the patients has also been confirmed.

Finally, Invisalign® is more gentle for gingival tissue than FOA due to more simple oral hygiene.

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Abbreviations
API: Approximal plaque index, FOA: Fixed orthodontic appliances, GI: Gingiva index, MPI: Modified plaque index, SBI: Sulcus bleeding index

Table 1. Demographic data of patients with FOA or Invisalign® included in the study
Variable	FOA	Invisalign®	p-value
Age (years)	16.3 ± 6.9	31.9 ± 13.6	≤0.001
Gender (male/female)	16/34	11/39	0.260
Duration of orthodontic treatment (months)	12.9 ± 7.2	12.6 ± 7.4	0.820

Values represent descriptive mean ± standard deviation

Table 2. Clinical parameters of patients with FOA or Invisalign® before and during orthodontic treatment
Clinical parameter	FOA	Invisalign®	p-value
API (%) - before treatment	19.6 ± 7.0	16.3 ± 9.6	0.068
API (%) - during treatment	37.7 ± 21.9	27.8 ± 24.6	0.108
Relative difference	18.1 ± 17.2	11.5 ± 17.2	0.170*
SBI (%) - before treatment	7.2 ± 4.4	6.6 ± 3.2	0.503
SBI (%) - during treatment	15.2 ± 7.6	7.6 ± 4.1	≤0.001
Relative difference	8.0 ± 6.6	1.0 ± 1.0	≤0.001*
GI - before treatment	0.29 ± 0.24	0.27 ± 0.25	0.910
GI - during treatment	0.54 ± 0.50	0.35 ± 0.34	0.072
Relative difference	0.25 ± 0.30	0.07 ± 0.12	0.001*

Values represent descriptive mean ± standard deviation
*Adjusted for age

Table 3. Subjective data of patients with FOA or Invisalign® during orthodontic treatment
Variable	FOA	Invisalign®	p-value
Impairment of general well being	36	6	0.001
Suffer under laugh inhibition	26	6	0.012
Would decide again to undergo the same treatment	78	98	0.004
Change of eating habits	70	50	0.066
Increased frequency of tooth brushing	84	52	0.001
Electric toothbrush	50	46	0.841
Subjective gingiva irritation (% yes)	56	14	0.001
Brushing time (min)	3.7 ± 1.7	2.2 ± 1.2	0.001
Change of toothbrush (in months)	2.2 ± 1.2	2.7 ± 1.2	0.020