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Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition | 5/201508 WORLD NEWS By DTI MAINZ, Germany: In recent years, clear aligners have become a favourable treatment alternative in orthodontics to fixed ortho- dontic appliances (FOA). However, there are few studies about the ef- fects of aligner treatment on oral hygiene and gingival condition. A team of German researchers has now compared the oral health sta- tus, oral hygiene and treatment satisfaction of patients treated with FOA and the Invisalign aligner system. They found that Invisalign patients have better periodontal health and greater satisfaction during orthodontic treatment. Todate,themajorityofpatients, particularlyduringchildhoodand adolescence, are treated with FOA. However, these appliances tend to complicate oral hygiene and thus interfere with patients’ peri- odontal health. Moreover, treat- mentwithFOAisnotverypopular inadultorthodonticsforaesthetic reasons. Therefore, other ortho- dontic techniques have been de- velopedtoimproveaestheticsand simplify oral hygiene procedures. AnalternativetoFOAisclearalign- ers, which are discreet and have the advantage of being removable during oral hygiene and eating or drinking. The use of clear aligners has increased greatly in the last decade, one prominent example being Invisalign, produced by Align Technology since 1999. However,onlyalimitednumberof studies have compared the effects of Invisalign and FOA on oral hy- giene, the researchers from the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz pointed out. Their study included 100 pa- tients who underwent orthodontic treatment,dividedequallybetween FOA and Invisalign, for more than six months. The researchers per- formed clinical examinations before and after treatment to evaluate the patients’ periodon- tal condition and any changes. Furthermore, a detailed ques- tionnaire assessed the patients’ personal oral hygiene and dietary habits, as well as satisfaction with the treatment. All of the patients received the same oral hygiene instructions before and during orthodontic treatment. This in- cludedtheuseoftoothbrush,den- tal floss and interdental brushes three times daily. Thedataanalysisshowednodif- ferences between the two groups regarding periodontal health and oral hygiene prior to the ortho- dontic treatment. However, the researchers observed notable changes in periodontal condition inbothgroupsduringorthodontic treatment. They found that gin- gival health was significantly better in patients treated with Invisalign, and the amount of dental plaque was also less but not significantly different compared with FOA patients. The questionnaire results showed greater satisfaction in patients treated with Invisalign. Only 6 per cent of the Invisalign patients reported impairment of their general well-being during orthodontictreatment,compared with 36 per cent of the FOA pa- tients. Other negative effects that also were significantly higher in FOA patients included gingi- val irritation (FOA: 56 per cent; Invisalign: 14 per cent), being kept from laughing for aesthetic rea- sons (FOA: 26 per cent; Invisalign: 6 per cent), having to change eating habits during orthodontic treatment (FOA: 70 per cent; Invisalign: 50 per cent), and hav- ing to brush one’s teeth for longer and more often (FOA: 84 per cent; Invisalign: 52 per cent). The researchers concluded that orthodontic treatment with Invisalign has significantly lower negative impacts on a patient’s condition than treatment with FOA, both with regard to gingival health and overall well-being. Clear aligners more beneficial than braces By DTI BANGKOK,Thailand: The FDI World Dental Federation has released the second edition of its Oral Health Atlas at the Annual World Dental Congress (AWDC) in Bangkok in Thailand. Titled The Challenge of Oral Disease—A Call for Global Action, it aims to serve as an advo- cacyresourceforalloralhealthcare professionals and recommends strategies to address the global challenge of oral disease. At the launch event held at the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre, Dr Habib Ben- zian and Prof. David Williams, the publication’s editors-in-chief, pre- sented the new edition of the atlas and spoke with DTI group editor Daniel Zimmermann about the contentsofthebookandtheglobal challenge of preventing oral dis- ease and implementing adequate oral health care worldwide. The first edition of the Oral Health Atlas, titled Mapping a Neglected Global Health Issue, was released at the FDI 2009 AWDC in Singapore and highlighted the ex- tent of the problem of oral disease worldwide. The second edition of the atlas provides an update of the globalhealthchallengeandreflects on policies and strategies that ad- dress the burden of oral disease, such as tooth decay, periodontal disease and oral cancer, Benzian pointed out. The book summarises the key oral health issues based on the latest available information from various international sources, Benzian and Williams explained, including the impact of oral dis- ease, major risk factors and in- equalities in oral health, as well as oral disease prevention and man- agement. Moreover, it aims to en- sure that oral health is granted higher priority on the global health and development agendas. Writ- ten for national dental associa- tions, health organisations, indus- try professionals and the general public, the atlas provides them with the means to address policy- makers, governments and local authorities based on sound facts sothattheycanbetteradvocatefor change in oral health-related poli- cies, Williams said. Accordingtotheatlas,onlyabout two-thirds of the world’s popula- tion have access to adequate oral health care, even though oral dis- ease, particularly tooth decay, is among the most common human diseases.“Untreated tooth decay is the most common health condi- tionofchildrenacrossallcountries, recently confirmed by the Global Burden of Disease Study looking at the burden of 281 diseases and con- ditions,” said Benzian. “Children with severe untreated tooth decay are impacted in their growth, have frequent episodes of pain, miss days in school and have a generally lower quality of life,”he continued. They also usually have the lowest access to oral health care and pre- ventive services, added Williams. Therefore, the two editors-in-chief hope that the second edition of the Oral Health Atlas will most of all serve as an advocacy tool for institutions, policymakers and dental associations in their effort to improve access to oral health care worldwide. The compilation of the new edition of the Oral Health Atlas was supported by the Hong Kong Dental Association and the FDI’s Vision 2020 oral health initiative. The book content includes chap- tersanddatafrom30contributors, andwasreviewedandeditedbythe two editors-in-chief. Theatlascanbedownloadedfree of charge from the FDI website and willbetranslatedintotheFDI’soffi- cial languages of French and Span- ish.Theseversionswillbeavailable electronically in early 2016. FDIreleasessecondedition of Oral Health Atlas Benzian andWilliams discussing the new publication withWDD Editor Daniel Zimmermann,DTI,during the launch event. Dr Habib Benzian (left) and Prof. David Williams,editors-in-chief of the second edition of the Oral Health Atlas. DTUK0515_08_WorldNews 15.10.15 12:03 Seite 1 DTUK0515_08_WorldNews 15.10.1512:03 Seite 1