ORTHODONTIC DEVICES VS. ALLERGIC REACTIONS IN CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULTS

Authors: Alina Sodor, Valentina Dorobat, Georgeta Zegan

Abstract:

The scope of the study was to evaluate the adverse reactions upon the intra- and extraoral tissues, produced by the insertion of orthodontic devices, on a populational group of Romania, for determining the frequencies of the allergic reactions and for comparing them with the sex, age, urban/rural background, malocclusion, orthodontic device, oral hygiene prior to and during the orthodontic treatment.
Materials and method: The observation sheets of 621 patients (255 boys and 366 girls) with ages between 6 and 29 years, from the Orthodontics Clinics of the Policlinics of the “Sf. Spiridon” Urgency Hospital and from a private orthodontic consulting room of Iasi, have been statistically evaluated with the SPSS 17.0 for Windows program
Results: Pearson correlation and linear regression evidenced the relations between the adverse reactions produced during the orthodontic treatment, on one side, and the age, dental hygiene and types of orthodontic devices, on the other. The results obtained put into evidence significant relations between the adolescent age and the allergy to nickel manifested in antecedents, between the scarce oral hygiene of the patients prior to the orthodontic treatment and gingival enlargement, between the scarce oral hygiene of the patients during the orthodontic treatment and the localized or generalized gingivitis and the bleedings and gingival overgrowths, between the mobile orthodontic devices and the allergic reactions to acrylic resins (p and t = 0.000). Relevant connections have been also evidenced between the fixed orthodontic devices and the allergic reactions to the polymeric biomaterials from the orthodontic devices (p = 0.005 and t = 0.034).
Conclusions: Statistical evaluation of the adverse effects induced by orthodontic devices may be used for stating the development of allergic reactions to the substances entering the composition of orthodontic devices, with reference to the cytotoxicology and biocompatibility of dental materials.

Keywords:
  • allergic reactions
  • biocompatibility.
  • cytotoxicity
  • orthodontic devices