European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

KNOWLEDGE AND AWARENESS ON PREVENTING AND TREATING WHITE-SPOT LESIONS ASSOCIATED WITH FIXED ORTHODONTIC TREATMENT: A SURVEY AMONG GENERAL DENTISTS AND ORTHODONTISTS

Dr. Justin Eldho*, Dr N Shubhashini and Dr Geeta IB

ABSTRACT

Development of dental caries, specifically, white spot lesions continues to be a well-recognized and troubling side effect of orthodontic fixed appliance therapy. Improving facial aesthetics is an objective of orthodontic treatment. However, a frequent complication of fixed orthodontic therapy is the subsurface enamel porosity due to carious demineralization (also known as white spot lesions) which can arise in 25 to 97% of orthodontic patients and compromise the aesthetic outcome of their orthodontic treatment. After removing appliances, a natural improvement in WSLs may occur during the first 6 to 24 months; however, such natural remineralization is always limited and some WSLs can last for more than 10 years. There are many treatment modalities for the treatment of white spot lesions including the use of fluoride toothpaste, fluoride varnish, fluoridated mouthwashes, use of CPP-ACP, etc. This survey aims to check the knowledge on preventive measures and treatment of white spot lesions among Orthodontists and General dentists.

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