931 © 2020 Annals of Medical and Health Sciences Research Original Article Research Article Introduction Periodontal diseases are made out of an enormous scope of inflammatory conditions that influence the supporting structures of the teeth (the gingiva, bone and periodontal ligament), which could prompt tooth loss and add to systemic inflammation. [1] Fixed retainers are progressively utilized these days since they are aesthetic, require less patient participation, and give more prominent dependability in the long term, hence being increasingly predictable. [2,3] Be that as it may, these retainers make oral hygiene progressively troublesome as the lingual surface turns out to be increasingly vulnerable to the development of calculus. [4-6] Moreover, they may deliver gingival recessions, loss of insertion, gingivitis, and the ensuing periodontal destruction. [5-11] Tooth decay may likewise show up on the lingual surfaces neighboring the retainer. [12] The impact of these retainers on periodontal health had shown a different result. [4,5,7,12] Some studies did not notice any damage to bone level and hard tissue with long-term use of fixed retainers around mandibular incisors, while soft tissue inflammation was noticed. [13,14] On the other hand, other studies have found that How to Cite this Article: Alshehri EM, et al. Association between Fixed Orthodontic Retainers and Gingival Health among Southern Region Population in Saudi Arabia-Cross sectional Study. Ann Med Health Sci Res. 2020;10: 931-935. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Com‑ mons Attribution‑NonCommercial‑ShareAlike 3.0 License, which allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non‑commercially, as long as the author is credited and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms. Associaon between Fixed Orthodonc Retainers and Gingival Health among Southern Region Populaon in Saudi Arabia-Cross seconal Study Ebtsam Mohammed Alshehri 1 , Fawziah Ahmed Al-Zahrani 1 and Weam Sharif Abdelrazag Ibrahim 2 * 1 Interns, College of Dentistry, King Khalid University, Abha, 61321, KSA; 2 Periodontics and Community Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, King Khalid University, Abha, 61321, KSA Abstract Context: Periodontal diseases are made out of an enormous scope of inflammatory conditions that influence the supporting structures of the teeth. Fixed retainers are progressively utilized since they are aesthetic, require less patient participation, and give more prominent dependability in the long-term, hence being increasingly predictable. Aim: To assess the gingival health status of subjects’ maxillary and mandibular anterior teeth retained with fixed bonded retainers. Seings and Design: Cross sectional Study. Materials and Methods: Thirty-three and 30 individuals were selected in the study and control group respectively. The gingival index, plaque index, presence of calculus, and periodontal parameters were recorded. A five-question oral hygiene survey was developed to asses each subject’s oral hygiene habits. Data have been analyses and compared to determine the association between periodontal disease and fixed orthodontic retainers. Statistical analysis used: The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (version 18.0) was used for statistical analysis. Descriptive statistics were presented as frequency and percentage for categorical data and mean and standard deviation for quantitative data. Chi-square test was applied for the association between categorical variables. Student’s independent variable t-test was applied to compare quantitative variables. Results: Although the result reveals no significant differences according to PI, GI, or presence of calculus. However, significant differences were present according to the gingival contour (p=0.001), stippling (p=0.002), bleeding on probing (p<0.001), presence of exudation (p<0.001). Conclusion: A long-term usage of fixed retainers might affect periodontal tissue. Long-term studies that would assess a wide range of outcomes and correlations that might affect periodontal well-being is recommended. Keywords: Orthodontic Retainer; Gingival Health; Periodontal Status Corresponding author: Weam Sharif Abdelrazag Ibrahim, Periodontics and Community Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, King Khalid University, Abha, 61321, KSA, Tel: +966551846444, E-mail: weamibrahim6@gmail.com fixed retainers can lead to several complications which include gingival recession, bleeding on probing and plaque retention. [8,15] A recent study stated that there are insufficient research data on which to base clinical decisions regarding retention. [13] In like manner, the potential increment in span of retention makes it essential to assess the result of long-term retention on encompassing tissues, with a specific emphasis on periodontal disease. Therefore, this study aims to assess the periodontal health status of maxillary and mandibular anterior teeth retained with fixed bonded retainers. In addition, to highlight the possible adverse effects of fixed bonded retainers on clinical parameters correlated to the health conditions of periodontal tissues. Results of the current study will be reflected on better understanding of