Microbiome and Immunogenity of Saliva During Orthodontic Therapy

There are two essential ways of treatment in the field of orthodontics. The fixed appliance treatment with self-ligating or conventional brackets and treatment with aligners. Fixed orthodontic treatment has been the optional therapy for decades. Due to an increasing demand of patients for a more aesthetic treatment, the number of aligner treatments multiplied over the last years. Within the last years, a crucial role of oral microbiome in the maintenance of oral health was largely appreciated. However, to date there is no data on the effect of different orthodontic treatments on the oral microbiome. The aim of the research project is the prospective comparison of the oral microbiome in saliva of adult patients treated with Invisalign® aligners or metal brackets. We plan to include a sample of twenty healthy individuals. Half of the participants will receive aligner treatment with Invisalign® and half metal brackets. Saliva will be collected before, 3 and 6 months after the beginning of the orthodontic therapy via a stimulated a saliva collection. The 16S rDNA genes will be amplified and sequenced with Illumina MiSeq® System. Probing depth, bleeding on probing and Plaque Index will be evaluated over time and correlated with changes of the oral microbiome.