Microbiologic Changes in Subgingival Plaque After Removal of Fixed Orthodontic Appliances

Abstract Objective: To evaluate changes that occur in the subgingival microbiota after removal of fixed orthodontic appliances using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Materials and Methods: Thirty orthodontic patients (11 males and 19 females; aged 20 ± 7.3 yr) were included in this study. Subgingival plaque samplings were gathered from the disto-buccal gingival crevice of the left upper central incisors and the left lower central incisors, and from the mesio-buccal gingival crevice of the left upper first molars and the left lower first molars, at two different times: 2 weeks before appliance removal (T1), and 3 months after appliance removal (T2). DNA was extracted from the samples and the 16S rRNA-based PCR detection method was used to determine the prevalence of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Tannerella forsythia, Campylobacter rectus, Eikenella corrodens, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Prevotella intermedia, Prevotella nigrescens, and Treponema denticola, which are considered as putative periodontop...