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.