The association between tooth irregularity and plaque accumulation, gingivitis, and caries in 11-12-year-old children

Abstract

The association between tooth irregularity and plaque accumulation, gingivitis and caries is somewhat controversial, primarily because of interplay of a number of factors which makes the determination of the role of irregularity difficult. This baseline study of 1015, 11–12-year-old children has attempted to unravel the effect of various interrelated factors using 4- way hierarchical analysis of variance. Preliminary analysis demonstrated that there was a modest but significant positive correlation (r=0.24p<0.001) between the subjects' mean plaque and mean irregularity indices. The main analysis, based on data from pairs of contralateral teeth, one of which was irregular and the other not, took into account differences between subjects, the position of the tooth in the mouth and whether the irregular tooth was on the toothbrushing hand side or not. Irregular teeth retained more plaque than straight teeth by a modest though statistically significant (p<0.05) extent, but no significant differences in the incidence of gingivitis or dental caries were found.