Investigation of bacteremia following insertion of orthodontic mini-implants.

AIM: To investigate the incidence of bacteremia in the bloodstream immediately after orthodontic mini-implant insertion, which can be an invasive procedure.

METHODS

Blood samples (10 mL) were taken before and after mini-implant insertion from 40 patients (18 males, 22 females; mean age 21.3 ± 7.7 years). These samples were inoculated into BacT/Alert aerobic and anaerobic blood culture bottles and processed in a BacT/Alert 9240 Blood Culture System. The findings were analyzed with the McNemar test.

RESULTS

No bacteremia was detected in the pretreatment samples, but it was in one of the postprocedure samples. The respective bacteria was Streptococcus sanguinis, which is strongly associated with bacterial endocarditis.

CONCLUSION

Orthodontic mini-implant placement might possibly be correlated to transitory bacteremia. Therefore, a very careful approach seems indicated when dealing with patients who are at risk for cardiopathic complications.