Gingival enlargement and resolution during and after orthodontic treatment.

Gingival enlargement (GE) is a condition that commonly develops during orthodontic treatment. Thirty adolescent subjects with clinically significant GE were analyzed at pre-orthodontic treatment (T1), when the appliances were removed (T2), and 3 to 12 months after (T3). The mean GE decreased from T2 to T3, but was significantly higher on T3 than T1 (p<.05). It may be concluded that complete resolution of GE developed during orthodontic treatment is not always attained after removal of the fixed appliances.