Gingival Recessions following Invisible Aligners Treatment. A Retrospective Evaluation.

A correlation between the use of fixed orthodontic appliances (FOA) and the onset of gingival recessions is now widely demonstrated. In 1999, a new type of treatment was introduced, designed, and created with invisible thermo-printed appliances. It had great success, especially amongst adults, since it gives greater comfort, as the appliances are removed before meals and home oral hygiene practice; it also turns out to be less impactful from an aesthetic point of view, compared to FOA. AIM of this study is to evaluate the number of gingival recession (REC) before the orthodontic treatment with aligners and compare it with the REC at the end of the treatment and after 5/10 years of a retention phase. METHODS: 49 patients were involved, for each of whom 3 intraoral photographs were taken at 3 different time points: before treatment (T0), at the end of orthodontic therapy (T1) and after following up from a minimum of 5 to a maximum of 10 years. Teeth from 15 to 25 showing gingival recessions in the photos between T0, T1 and T2 were recorded. RESULTS: The data analysis showed that the gingival recessions recorded at time T2, almost doubled compared to those recorded at time T0, i.e., before treatment. In particular, the maximum possible increase in the incidence of recessions occurred between T0 and T1. CONCLUSION: Orthodontic therapy with aligners may increase the onset of gingival recessions during the treatment or in the retention phase. In future, it will be interesting to compare the occurrence of recessions, in the same time frame, between the treated and an untreated sample.