Original Article

Association between malpositioned

teeth and periodontal disease
Estela Santos Gusmo*, Roberlene Deschamps Coutinho de Queiroz**,
Renata de Souza Coelho***, Renata Cimes****, Rosens Lima dos Santos*****

Abstract
Objective: To identify malpositioned teeth in patients referred to periodontal treatment in

the Brazilian Association of Dentistry, Pernambuco Division and evaluate the association
of these irregularities with periodontal health. Methods: The sample comprised 90 individuals aged 15 to 69 years. First, each participant was examined to identify the types of
abnormal tooth positions by means of visual inspection. After that, their periodontal health
was assessed according to the following clinical parameters: Gingival bleeding on probing,
periodontal attachment loss, and probing depth. In bivariate analysis, a chi-square test was
used to calculate significance of the associations. Results: Several types of changes in tooth
position were detected in the participants, and the most significant were: Rotated teeth
(86.7%); crowding (52.2%); and mesially tipped molar (48.9%). All participants had periodontal changes associated with these abnormalities: 100% had gingival bleeding; 67.8%,
gingival recession; 54.4%, gingival enlargement; and 28.9%, chronic periodontitis. There
were significant associations between gingival recession and the variables buccally tipped
tooth and excessive proclination of maxillary incisors, and also between chronic periodontitis and mesially tipped molar, crowding, excessive proclination of maxillary and mandibular
incisors, and diastema (p<0.05). The need of multidisciplinary treatment was clear in all the
cases. Conclusions: Malpositioned teeth negatively affected the health of periodontal tissues, which draws attention to the importance of a multidisciplinary approach that includes,
primarily, periodontal and orthodontic care to improve the oral health of patients.
Keywords: Malpositioned teeth. Periodontal health. Orthodontic treatment.

The authors report no commercial, proprietary, or financial interest in the

products or companies described in this article.

How to cite this article: Gusmo ES, Queiroz RDC, Coelho RS, Cimes R,
Santos RL. Association between malpositioned teeth and periodontal disease.
Dental Press J Orthod. 2011 July-Aug;16(4):87-94.

* Associate Professor, Periodontics, University of Pernambuco. PhD in Periodontics, University of So Paulo, Brazil.
** Specialist in Periodontics, School of Continued Education, Brazilian Association of Dentistry, Pernambuco (EAP-ABO/PE), Brazil.
*** Doctorate Student, Dentistry (Collective Health), University of Pernambuco, Brazil.
**** Associate Professor, Comprehensive Dental Care, Federal University of Pernambuco. PhD in Dentistry (Collective Health), University of Pernambuco, Brazil.
***** Associate Professor, Restorative Dentistry, Federal University of Pernambuco. PhD in Cosmetic Dentistry and Endodontics, University of Pernambuco, Brazil.

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Association between malpositioned teeth and periodontal disease

INTRODUCTION
The diagnostic combination of periodontics
and orthodontics should be a usual practice in
dental clinics, particularly among specialists. Early
diagnoses of any type of abnormal tooth position provide information to direct treatment and,
therefore, prevent periodontal diseases. Orthodontic treatments, as part of periodontal rehabilitation programs, may bring benefits, such as
the improvement of access for dental hygiene,
reestablishment of occlusal balance, and even adequate lip sealing. Orthodontics acts in the tooth
repositioning and presents a close relationship
with the periodontal tissues, both because its execution manner as for the results achieved, reducing the possibility of tooth loss and gingival infections caused by tooth malpositioning.
Of the several pathologies that affect the oral
cavity, malocclusion is the third most important
problem in the world population. Abnormal
tooth positions may already be present in the deciduous dentition. Therefore, dental care professionals, such as pediatric dentists and orthodontists, should act preventively to ensure correct
tooth positioning and to avoid or reduce malocclusion that may perpetuate in the mixed and
permanent dentitions.3,5,6,12,13,18,25 This is clearly
illustrated in Figure 1.
Malocclusion alone does not result in periodontal disease.1,2 Studies with children, adolescents
and young adults evaluated the effects of several

types of malocclusion, as well as of isolated malpositioned teeth, on clinically healthy periodontal

tissues. Results showed that most individuals had
deficient oral hygiene and consequent accumulation of bacterial plaque, which may cause, in some
cases, gingival inflammation, the most common
periodontal problem. However, other individuals
may have no periodontal changes (Fig 2). Those
studies also revealed the importance of oral hygiene instructions and referral to orthodontic
treatment as preventive measures. When the periodontium has already been affected, its response
is different and, in addition to the physiological
response to the accumulation of bacterial plaque,
each individuals genetic susceptibility may affect the chances of an increase in disease severity,
which is always positive.1,2,7,9,14,21-24,26-29
All types of tooth malposition, such as diastemas, crowding, rotated teeth, incisor proclination and mandibular molar tipping, may result in early tooth loss due to the formation of
periodontal pockets on the mesial surface of the
tooth involved, because the bone crest tends to
follow the cementoenamel junction.15 When any
type of malposition is diagnosed, teeth should
be aligned to redirect occlusal forces that act
along the tooth axis and are harmoniously distributed and to rule out occlusal trauma, which
may affect periodontal health.15,20 According to
Freitas et al,10 mandibular second molar movement enables easier oral hygiene in the mesial re-

FigurE 1 - Clinical aspect of malocclusion in mixed dentition, with emphasis on tooth 41 proclined and with gingival recession.

FigurE 2 - Young adult patient with malpositioned teeth and gingival

hyperplasia.

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Gusmo ES, Queiroz RDC, Coelho RS, Cimes R, Santos RL

gion of the tooth and eliminates the pathological

periodontal environment, corrects the proximal
bone defect, improves the crown/root ratio and
prevents occlusal trauma. In the anterior teeth,
excessive mandibular incisor proclination is a
frequent cause of gingival recession.29
Because of scientific and technological advances in orthodontics, the use of appliances
with accurate control of the forces applied and
the improved preparation of dental care workers
for the correction of anomalies in tooth position,
orthodontic treatments are no longer exclusively
prescribed for children and adolescents. Adult patients may undergo orthodontic treatment primarily due to esthetic considerations, although dental
care workers may stress the functional results of
this type of treatment.4,9 Moreover, patients with
periodontal disease or treatment sequelae should
also undergo orthodontic interventions. Several
authors pointed out the importance of a multidisciplinary treatment approach, combining orthodontics, periodontics, restorative dentistry, prosthetic dentistry and implant dentistry, to respond
to all patient needs.4,8,9,11,17,19
This study identified the types of tooth position anomalies in patients attended in an outpatient service and referred to periodontal treatment
in the public healthcare system and investigated
whether these anomalies were pathologically associated with periodontal health.

of the Brazilian National Health Council. This

study was approved by the Ethics Committee of
University of Pernambuco under number 03/05,
SISNEP 065782. Visual inspection excluded individuals that had no malpositioned teeth, had
orthodontic appliances or any systemic disease,
or were taking any type of medication, as well as
smokers, ex-smokers and mouth breathers. After
checking these criteria, a convenience sample of
90 patients, aged 15 to 69 years, was selected. A
clinical form was used to record, for each patient,
the type of tooth malposition. Immediately after
that, a periodontal diagnosis was made using the
index made up of results of gingival bleeding on
probing (marginal), probing depth and, by means
of visual inspection, presence or absence of attachment loss (gingival recession) according to
the parameter of whether the cementoenamel
junction was exposed.
All participants were examined by only one
examiner previously trained and calibrated.
Data were analyzed according to univariate
and bivariate analyses and described as absolute
and percentage distributions of the variables in a
nominal scale of descriptive statistical measures:
minimum and maximum values, mean, standard
deviation, and variation coefficient. A chi-square
test was used for analyses and, when the conditions for its use were not met, the Fisher exact test
was used. The level of significance was set at 5.0%.

METHODS
One hundred and fifty adult men and women
took part in the sample selection process. They
had all been referred to treatment in the outpatient service of the Specialization Course in Periodontics of the Brazilian Association of Dentistry,
Pernambuco Division, by professionals in the public healthcare system of the city of Recife, Brazil.
All patients received written and oral information
about the objective of the study, and all signed
an informed consent term prepared according to
the guidelines established in Directive #196/96

RESULTS
Age of the 90 patients ranged from 15 to 69
years, and mean age was 28.18 years; 60% were
women.
Table 1 shows the results of type of tooth
position anomalies found in the study sample.
One single patient might have one or more
teeth with position anomalies. The most prevalent anomalies affected patients with rotated
teeth (86.7%), crowding (52%) and mesially
tipped molar (48.9%)
The distribution of periodontal changes seen

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Association between malpositioned teeth and periodontal disease

can be seen in Figure 4.

The association between chronic periodontitis and tooth malposition is described in Table 4.
The greatest percentage differences for patients
with chronic periodontitis were found among
those that had a buccally tipped molar, excessive proclination of maxillary incisors, excessive
proclination of mandibular incisors, crowding,
generalized spacing between teeth or diastemas,
which confirms the significant association between these variables and chronic periodontitis
(p<0.05) (Fig 5).
The analysis of need of periodontal treatment
in the study sample revealed that 100% of the patients should undergo basic periodontal treatment
(oral hygiene instructions, scaling and root planing),

in Table 2, in which one patient might have one

or more periodontal problem, shows that 100%
of the patients had chronic marginal gingivitis
defined by gingival bleeding on probing (Figs
3A and 3B), 28.9% had chronic periodontitis at
different degrees of severity, 67.8%, teeth with
gingival recession, and 54.4%, areas of gingival
enlargement.
Table 3 shows the results of the analysis of
malpositioned teeth and their association with
teeth with or without gingival recession. Of all
types of abnormalities found in the study sample and listed in Table 1, only isolated buccally
tipped teeth and excessive maxillary incisor proclination had a significant association with gingival recession (p<0.05). These clinical findings

tablE 1 - Distribution of types of tooth position anomalies.

Tooth position
anomalies

Yes

No

Total

n (%)

n (%)

n (%)

Mesially tipped molar

44 (48.9)

46 (51.1)

90 (100.0)

Isolated buccally tipped tooth

24 (26.7)

66 (73.3)

90 (100.0)

Crowding

47 (52.2)

43 (47.8)

90 (100.0)

Maxillary incisor
proclination

20 (22.2)

70 (77.8)

90 (100.0)

Mandibular incisor
proclination

16 (17.8)

74 (82.2)

90 (100.0)

Generalized spacing

25 (27.8)

67 (72.2)

90 (100.0)

Diastema

26 (28.9)

64 (71.1)

90 (100.0)

Rotated teeth

78 (86.7)

12 (13.3)

90 (100.0)

tablE 2 - Distribution of pathological periodontal changes.

Yes

No

Total

n (%)

n (%)

n (%)

Mesially tipped
molar

90 (100.0)

90 (100.0)

Isolated buccally
tipped tooth

61 (67.8)

29 (32.2)

90 (100.0)

Crowding

49 (54.4)

41 (45.6)

90 (100.0)

Maxillary incisor
proclination

26 (28.9)

64 (71.1)

90 (100.0)

Periodontal Changes

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FigurE 3 - Malpositioned teeth, gingival inflammation and gingival
bleeding after marginal probing.

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Gusmo ES, Queiroz RDC, Coelho RS, Cimes R, Santos RL

tablE 3 - Percentage of patients with gingival recession according to

types of tooth position anomalies that presented statistical significance.

tablE 4 - Percentage of patients with chronic periodontitis according to types of toot position anomalies.
Chronic periodontitis

Gingival recession
Periodontal
changes

Yes

No

Total

n (%)

n (%)

n (%)

Periodontal
changes

Yes

22 (91.7)

2 (8.3)

24 (100)

No

39 (59.1)

27 (40.9)

66 (100)

Total

61 (67.8)

29 (32.2)

90 (100)

Yes

Total

n (%)

n (%)

n (%)

18 (40.9)

26 (59.1)

44 (100)

No

8 (17.4)

38 (82.6)

46 (100)

Total

26 (28.9)

64 (71.1)

90 (100)
p(1) = 0.0182*

Yes

10 (50.0)

10 (50.0)

20 (100)

Yes

18 (90.0)

2 (10.0)

20 (100)

No

16 (22.9)

54 (77.1)

70 (100)

No

43 (61.4)

27 (38.6)

70 (100)

Total

26 (28.9)

64 (71.1)

90 (100)

Total

61 (67.8)

29 (32.2)

90 (100)

p(1) = 0.0004*

Crowding

(*) significant association at the level of 5.0%.

(1) chi-square test.

Yes

6 (12.8)

41 (87.2)

47 (100)

No

20 (46.5)

23 (53.5)

43 (100)

Total

26 (28.9)

64 (71.1)

90 (100)
p(1) = 0.0022*

Mandibular incisor proclination

Yes

10 (62.5)

6 (37.5)

(100)

No

16 (21.6)

58 (78.4)

(100)

Total

26 (28.9)

64 (71.1)

90 (100)
p(1) = 0.0001*

Spacing
Yes

17 (68.0)

8 (32.0)

(100)

No

9 (13.8)

56 (86.2)

(100)

Total

26 (28.9)

64 (71.1)

90 (100)
p(1) = 0.0049*

Diastema

FigurE 4 - Proclined lower tooth and gingival recession in adult patient

with gingivitis and periodontitis.

p(1) = 0.0139*

Maxillary incisor proclination

p(1) = 0.0159*

Maxillary incisor proclination

No

Mesially tipped molar

p(1) = 0.0035*

Buccally tipped tooth

Yes

Yes

13 (50.0)

13 (50.0)

(100)

No

13 (20.3)

51 (79.7)

(100)

Total

26 (28.9)

64 (71.1)

90 (100)

(*) = significant association at the level of 5.0%.

(1) = chi-square test.

tablE 5 - Percentage of patients that needed periodontal or orthodontic treatment.

Treatment

FigurE 5 - Malpositioned teeth in a patient with periodontitis.

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Yes

No

Total

n (%)

n (%)

n (%)

Basic periodontal treatment

90 (100.0)

90 (100.0)

Periodontal surgery

40 (44.4)

50 (55.4)

90 (100.0)

Minor orthodontic
movement

60 (66.7)

30 (33.3)

90 (100.0)

Full orthodontic treatment

30 (33.3)

60 (66.7)

90 (100.0)

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Association between malpositioned teeth and periodontal disease

invariably lead to the development of periodontal

disease, particularly in cases when there is regular
follow-up by a dentist that gives instructions to
patients about the correct oral hygiene procedures
for their current anatomic condition1,2,7,14,21-24,26.
Malocclusions, etiologically associated with
several factors, such as poor tooth positioning, are
sometimes detected in children and adolescents as
a warning sign for early correction.17,22 Their prevalence is significant in the world population, regardless of the socioeconomic development of countries such as, for example, Brazil. It is classified as a
public health problem, as clearly reported by Bello3
in 2004. However, in routine clinical practice, tooth
malpositioning is often overlooked at the phase of
early detection of dental problems, and teeth keep
this preexisting condition until adulthood. Data
from other studies are in agreement with our findings, and patients invariably report that tooth malpositions never received attention from specialists.
Therefore, dental care professionals should make
therapeutic decisions as early as in the first visit of
a child or adolescent.5,6,12,13,18,25,27
Occlusion trauma that results from tooth malpositioning in cases, for example, of excessive mandibular incisor proclination, is a destructive factor for the
tissues that support the periodontium. In this study,
it was significantly associated with gingival recession,
a pathological condition found in a high percentage
of patients in our sample, and as a co-destructive
factor when associated with preexisting periodontal
disease, leading to greater mobility of affected teeth,
which was confirmed in the patients that had chronic periodontitis, and in agreement with findings described by Gutirrez Izquierdo, Martnez Prez14
and Vanzin et al.29
Our study showed that all patients in the
study sample needed basic or surgical periodontal
treatment. It also demonstrated that a misaligned
tooth in the dental arch may produce a disease or
change the intensity of a previous disease, which
may be the result of no specific dental care and
poor instructions about controlled oral hygiene.

whereas 44.4% should also undergo surgery after

those procedures. The analysis of need of orthodontic treatment revealed that 66.7% of the patients needed minor movement of malpositioned
teeth, and 33.3% should undergo complete orthodontic treatments.
DISCUSSION
The results of this study confirmed that the
diagnostic and therapeutic interrelation between
orthodontics and periodontics is a consensus in
the literature.7,8,10,13 Clinical periodontal health is
essential for the success of any type of orthodontic
treatment, in the same way that orthodontic correction should not result in damage to periodontal
tissues. Therefore, dental care professionals should
combine their efforts and act according to a predetermined treatment plan for each patient.
Few studies in the literature investigated the
interrelation between irregular tooth positioning and malocclusion with periodontal health in
groups of adult patients. Most studies focused on
children and adolescents. Our study examined
patients referred to periodontal treatment and
evaluated malpositioned teeth and their possible
effects on periodontal tissues. Data showed that
there were pathological periodontal changes associated with orthodontic anomalies, which corroborates previous findings.1,2,7,8,14
Although the main etiological factor of periodontal disease is the bacterial plaque, other factors are usually associated and may lead to changes
in host responses. Of these factors, malpositioned
teeth are predisposing factors because oral hygiene becomes more difficult, bacterial plaque is
retained and accumulates and, therefore, proliferates and leads to pathological periodontal changes.
Our results contribute to the literature, as all patients that had malpositioned teeth also had some
type of periodontal disease, such as chronic marginal gingivitis, gingival enlargement, gingival recession and chronic periodontitis in several degrees
of severity. However, this predisposition does not

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Gusmo ES, Queiroz RDC, Coelho RS, Cimes R, Santos RL

CONCLUSIONS
Various types of tooth position anomalies were
found in this study sample, and they were significantly associated with periodontal changes, such
as chronic marginal gingivitis, gingival enlargement, gingival recession and chronic periodontitis. Patients needed basic and surgical periodontal treatments, as well as orthodontic treatments.
Therefore, the role of orthodontics and periodontics in the correction of tooth position should lead
to improvements in oral health.

Another remarkable finding was that all patients

needed some type of orthodontic intervention,
either some minor tooth alignment or full orthodontic treatment. Moreover, several patients also
needed other types of dental procedures, which
draws attention to the need of a multidisciplinary
approach and corroborates findings reported in
studies that focused on treatment combinations.
Orthodontic follow-up should be prescribed to
patients that have attachment loss due to disease
severity and periodontal treatment.4,8,9,11,17,19

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Submitted: October 23, 2007

Revised and accepted: March 13, 2009

Contact address
Estela Santos Gusmo
Rua Olavo Bilac, 50, apt. 902 Ed. Baro de Graja
CEP: 51.021-480 Recife/PE, Brazil
E-mail: [email protected]

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