The dynamics of the oral microbiome and oral health among patients receiving clear aligner orthodontic treatment

Abstract

Objectives This 6‐month prospective clinical study assessed the impacts of Invisalign appliances on the oral bacterial community and oral health of patients. Methods Salivary samples were obtained from twenty‐five adult patients receiving Invisalign aligner treatment before the treatment (Group B) and at a 6‐month follow‐up (Group P). The bacterial composition of each sample was determined using Illumina MiSeq sequencing of the bacterial 16S rRNA. Intra‐ and intergroup biodiversity was analyzed. Clinical periodontal parameters and daily oral hygiene habits were recorded. Results Reduction in plaque, increased daily brushing frequency, and decreased dessert intake were observed in Group P compared with that in Group B. A total of 1,853,952 valid reads were obtained from the 50 salivary samples, with 37,904 sequences per sample. No significant differences were detected in the intra‐ and intergroup biodiversity comparisons between the two groups. By clustering, 8,885 OTUs were identified and categorized into six major phyla: Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Fusobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Candidate_division_TM7_norank. At the genus level, compared with Group B, Group P demonstrated significantly increased Bacillus abundance and decreased Prevotella abundance. Conclusions Our results suggested that the general biodiversity and salivary microbial community structure did not change significantly and that patients had increased beneficial oral hygiene habits and awareness during the first six months of Invisalign treatment. Hence, on the basis of this study, it appears that Invisalign aligner treatment did not induce deterioration of oral health nor significant biodiversity changes in oral bacterial communities, assuming that detailed oral hygiene instructions for both teeth and aligners were provided.

The impact of fixed orthodontic appliances on oral microbiome dynamics in Japanese patients

“…The results of the study and our study including saliva sample strongly suggested the increase of the genus Tannerella in oral cavity after placement of orthodontic appliances. Zhao et al reported that there were significant decrease of Prevotella abundance and overall microbial community structure did not change in saliva in spite of using NGS method as our study 44 . It is speculated that their contrast result to our finding of increased periodontal pathogens were due to the different types of orthodontic appliances; whereas we targeted fixed orthodontic appliances, they targeted removal orthodontic appliances.…”

Taxonomic Analysis of Oral Microbiome during Orthodontic Treatment

“…Among Rothia genus, the lower abundance was shown in group C rather than in both groups CAT and FAT, although a significant difference ( P < 0.05) was shown only between C and FAT groups, which showed the higher abundance. Zhao et al [ 36 ] analyzed 6-month effects of CAT on salivary bacterial community. No significant changes in biodiversity (alpha and beta diversity) were detected in time.…”

Behaviour of Human Oral Epithelial Cells Grown on Invisalign® SmartTrack® Material

“…The main advantage of clear aligner therapy over conventional multibracket orthodontics is the lack of bonded components. It is well known that fixed orthodontic appliances can alter oral microbiome [31], whereas clear aligner therapy has minimal effects on the mouth environment [32]. However, the exact effect of clear aligners in the oral cavity has still to be investigated.…”