Salivary Electrolytes in Patients Undergoing Fixed Orthodontic Treatment

The base metal alloys are more susceptible to corrosion than nobl ealloys, and fixed orthodontic appliances are generally made of base alloys. Fixed orthodontic appliances in the oral cavity are exposed to destructive physical and chemical agents, resulting in metallic corrosion. The present study aimed to evaluate the concentration of cobalt, zinc, and magnesium in patients' saliva with fixed orthodontic appliances at three different times. Saliva samples from 18 patients (9 males and 9 females) between 15-25 years were taken at three different time points. Group I: Pretreatment saliva sample, group II: one month after appliance placement, Group III: four months after appliance placement. The fixed appliance consists of 20 stainless steel brackets, 4 buccal tubes, and a super elastic nickel-titanium arch wire. Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry analyzed the level of ions in salivary samples. Ions are recorded in parts per billion. Statistical analysis was performed by non-parametric tests (Friedman) and one-way repeated measures ANOVA. Levels of cobalt, magnesium, and zinc ions in saliva were highest in group II, lowest in group I for both zinc and cobalt, and lowest in group III for magnesium. On a pair wise comparison between different groups, it was statistically significant for all groups (<0. 005) except for cobalt and magnesium level between group I and group III and zinc level between groups II and III. Cobalt, magnesium, and zinc levels in saliva were increased after placing a fixed orthodontic appliance.