QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF INTERLEUKIN- 6 IN GINGIVAL CREVICULAR FLUID: A COMPARATIVE CLINICAL STUDY OF ONE WEEK VERSUS TWO WEEK ALIGNER WEAR PROTOCOL

According to orthodontic literature (IL-6) is a proinflammatory cytokine that is expressed in GCF, which controls the bone remodeling process through interactions with different types of bone cells. IL-6 is believed to play a positive regulatory role in osteoclast differentiation by inducing the expression of receptor activator of NF- kappa B ligand (RANKL) on the surface of osteoblasts . When orthodontic pressures are applied, IL-6 expression in the periodontal tissue increases . There are many research that has examined the expression of interleukin-6 in PDL and GCF, in patient following a fixed orthodontic treatment regimen.In CAT two week change protocol was widely used worldwide, until recent times when the one-week aligner protocol is been practiced. There have been many clinical studies comparing the accuracy of tooth movements in 7 days,10 days, and 14 days wear protocol which concluded that all three groups showed similar tooth movement and pain perception even though slight variation existed depending on the type of tooth movement.Studies have proven that up and down-regulation of cytokines depends on the amount of force given and it also diminishes differently in patients wearing clear aligners and fixed orthodontic treatment. Limited studies were conducted which evaluated the expression of different cytokines including IL-6 in the GCF of patients following a one-week aligner wear protocol. No comparative study between one-week and two-week aligner wear protocol has been done based on changes in the expression of cytokine brought about by clear aligners, making it difficult to evaluate the correct change in protocol and the effectiveness of these appliances.Therefore, it is crucial to reevaluate the molecular and biological basis for updating clear aligners wear protocol. The purpose of the study is to quantify the level of IL-6 in GCF in patients following two different aligner wear protocols and to correlate the results for redesigning the wear protocol.