
Primary outcome

tooth
One year after bracket debonding, all subjects were recalled by the same clinician (S.A.), and the Gingival Index (GI) was recorded for the mandibular anterior teeth. To obtain the GI, the buccal, lingual, mesial and distal surfaces of the mandibular anterior teeth were scored from 0 to 3; these scores were averaged to obtain the GI for each tooth.