Infection predictive factors with orthodontic anchorage miniplates

Inflammation and/or infection around skeletal anchorage miniplates is a relatively common complication. The aim of this study was to assess potential predictive factors behind soft tissue infection associated with titanium miniplates used for orthodontic anchorage. A cross-sectional study enrolled 60 patients who had miniplates for at least 6 months. Infection around miniplates (dependent variable) was defined according to the presence of exudate and edema in the region and was used in a conditional multiple logistic regression model to investigate the possible role of several independent variables as predictive factors. A total of 20 men and 40 women used 139 miniplates. In all, 72.7% of miniplates were installed in female patients and 27.3% in male patients. Infection occurred in 24 (17.3%) of the 139 miniplates installed. This study showed that greatest impact for infection was the distance from the exposed link of the miniplate to the mucogingival junction, probing depth and oral hygiene frequency were also important to explain infection. However, age was the least factor to obtaining the infection around the miniplate.