Comparison of potential long-term costs for preventive dentistry treatment of post-orthodontic labial versus lingual enamel cavitations and esthetically relevant white-spot lesions: a simulation study with different scenarios.

Post-orthodontic white-spot lesions (WSL) in esthetically relevant incisor and canine areas impair dentofacial esthetics, and preventive dentistry treatment is definitely required in case of enamel cavitations. The incidence of lingual post-orthodontic WSL and cavitation following lingual MB treatment has been reported to be distinctively decreased compared to labial MB treatment. Moreover, lingual WSL do not impair dentofacial esthetics. It was the objective of this study to calculate consequential costs of preventive dental care necessary to recover labial or lingual post-orthodontic cavitations as well as esthetically relevant WSL following either labial or lingual MB interventions.