Authors: Rathin Kumar, Vaibhav Misra, Divya Joshi, Ashish Yadav, Sonal Attri, Steffi Johnson
Introduction: Prevention of unwanted post-treatment changes remains one of the biggest challenges in orthodontics. Retention using removable appliance is important, which can alter the oral hygiene and oral microbial flora, overall increase in the Streptococcus mutans can lead to caries formation which can lead to a missing tooth that can spoil the overall appearance of the patient. Materials and Methods: 24 post orthodontic subjects were divided in to two groups and group I was given Essix retainer and Group II was given Hawleys Retainer, Supra gingival plaque collected and bacterial colony count done using digital colony counter OHI-S and PI are recorded at T0 (start of treatment) T1 (30 days) T2 (60 days). Result: Essix group has a significant increase in the streptococcus mutans count OHI-S and PI scores are higher for hawleys retainer group. Conclusion: This study advocates the use of a better appliance which along with aesthetics can also ensure better oral hygiene Care should be taken to provide detailed hygiene instructions for both appliance and teeth. Keywords: Essix retainer, Hawleys retainer, Periodontal evaluation, Streptococcus mutans, Oral hygiene
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