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Characteristics of oral microbiota and oral health in the patients treated with clear aligners: a prospective study

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Abstract

Objectives

In this prospective clinical study, the effect of clear aligners on periodontal health and oral hygiene was examined. As the same time, microbial changes of the aligner tray and subgingival microbiota community were investigated.

Methods

The study recruited fifteen patients, and clinical parameters were recorded at three different time points: before the initiation of aligner treatment (T0), 1 month after treatment onset (T1), and 3 months after treatment onset (T3). Plaque samples were collected from the inner surface of aligners and subgingival sulcus at each of these time points. The microbial composition of the samples was analyzed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and changes were evaluated based on the abundance of amplicon sequence variants (ASVs).

Results

Reduction in plaque index and improvement in periodontal health were observed. In aligner tray plaque samples, the relative abundance of Streptococcus increased significantly, as well as the richness and diversity of microbiota decreased substantially as the duration of treatment time. In subgingival plaque samples, alpha and beta diversity of microbiota did not change significantly.

Conclusions

During the clear aligner treatment, the patients’ periodontium remained in a healthy condition, and clear aligner treatment had no significant impact on the composition of subgingival microbiota. The structure of the aligner tray microbiota altered significantly at both phylum and genus levels and attracted a unique and less diverse microbiota community.

Clabsinabsical relevance

Clear aligner treatment has no significant impact on periodontal health and subgingival microbiota composition of patients.

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Data availability

Derived data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding authors on request.

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Funding

This work was supported by the National Nature Science Foundation of China (NSFC, No. 82071147, No. 82171000) and 2022 EMEA and APAC Align Research Award.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, West China School of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China

    Maierdanjiang Rouzi, Qingsong Jiang & Haoxin Zhang

  2. State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Department of Orthodontics, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, 14 Renmin South Road Third Section, Chengdu, 610041, China

    Xiaolong Li, Hu Long & Wenli Lai

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  1. Maierdanjiang Rouzi
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  3. Haoxin Zhang
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Contributions

Maierdanjiang Rouzi performed the sample collection, analyzed the data, and wrote and revised the manuscript. Qingsong Jiang, Haoxin zhang carried out clinical data collection and data analyses. Xiaolong Li helped perform the analysis with constructive discussions. Hu Long guided the analyses of oral microbiome. Wenli Lai contributed to the conception of the study.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Hu Long or Wenli Lai.

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Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Ethical approval

The research received formal ethical approval from the Institutional Review Board of West China Hospital of Stomatology (WCSHIRB-D-2021–443), where the study was initiated.

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All participants gave written consent.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Rouzi, M., Jiang, Q., Zhang, H. et al. Characteristics of oral microbiota and oral health in the patients treated with clear aligners: a prospective study. Clin Oral Invest 27, 6725–6734 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00784-023-05281-y

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