Microbial profile on bracket materials

Abstract

PLEASE NOTE: This work is protected by copyright. Downloading is restricted to the BU community: please click Download and log in with a valid BU account to access. If you are the author of this work and would like to make it publicly available, please contact [email protected] (M.Sc.D.)--Boston University, Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine, 2000 (Orthodontics).Includes bibliographical references (leaves 70-76).The placement of orthodontic bands, brackets, ligature wires and elastics encourages the accumulation of a microbial flora and food residues, which in time, may cause caries and/or exacerbate any pre-existing periodontal disease. The purpose of the present study was to compare the total bacterial counts present on metallic and ceramic orthodontic brackets in order to clarify which bracket type had a higher plaque retaining capacity and to determine the levels of Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus acidophilus spp on both types of brackets. Thirty-two metallic brackets and twenty-four ceramic brackets were collected from orthodontic patients at the day of debonding. Two brackets were collected from each patient; one from a maxillary central incisor and another from a maxillary second premolar. Sixteen patients who used metal brackets and twelve patients who used ceramic brackets were sampled. Bacterial populations were studied using “checkerboard” DNA-DNA hybridization. This technique used DNA probes to identify species in complex microbial samples. Significance of differences between groups was determined using the Mann-Whitney U test. Results showed no significant differences between metallic and ceramic brackets with respect to the caries-inducing S. mutans and L. acidophilus spp counts. Mean counts of eight of thirty-five additional species differed significantly between metallic and ceramic brackets with no obvious pattern favoring one bracket type over the other. This study showed higher mean counts of Treponema denticola, Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans. Fusobacterium nucleatum ss vincentii, Streptococcus anginosus, and Eubacterium nodatum on metallic brackets while higher counts of Eikenalla corrodens, Campylobacter showae, and Selenomonas noxia were found on ceramic brackets