Do total or partial etching procedures effect the rate of white spot lesion formation? A single-center, randomized, controlled clinical trial.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether total or partial etching procedures influence the appearance of white spot lesions (WSLs). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This split-mouth, double-blind, controlled, randomized study included 20 patients (mean age 16.75 years), who had class I malocclusion, mild crowding, and satisfactory oral hygiene. A total of 40 maxillary quadrants were randomly allocated to be treated using a total etching (TE) or partial etching (PE) protocol. Quantitative light fluorescence images were captured at the beginning and at 3 (T1) and 6 (T2) months after beginning orthodontic treatmen, as well as when the debonding phase of orthodontic treatment was complete (T3). The presence of pre- and posttreatment WSLs was assessed with quantitative light fluorescence software and analyzed with Student's t-test. RESULTS: The analyses showed that, at T2, the total etching group had significantly higher DeltaQ and A scores than the partial etching group ( P < .05). The DeltaF scores increased significantly at all timepoints in the TE group, but only at T1 and T3 in the PE group. However, no differences were noted at T3 between the TE and PE groups ( P > .05). The inclusion of only right-handed people may have limited the generalizability of the findings. The absence of analyses of the plaque and gingivitis scores of patients was another limitation of this study. CONCLUSIONS: WSL formation was observed mostly in maxillary lateral incisor teeth irrespective of the etching technique. Although PE seems to be more successful in the first 6 months, no difference was observed between PE and TE in the long term for WSL formation.