The present study evaluated the periodontal conditions in dental students after appliance removal (mean period 7.16 +/- 3.5 years) compared with an untreated control group. Twenty-five subjects in the treated group (16 females and 9 males: 23.0 +/- 2.04 years) and 29 in a control group (15 females and 14 males: 23.99 +/- 2.46 years) underwent a periodontal examination: visible plaque index (VPI), gingival bleeding index (GBI), bleeding on probing (BOP), periodontal probing depth (PPD), and clinical attachment loss (CAL) of canines, premolars, and banded first molars and unbanded second molars. Statistical analysis was performed using a Mann-Whitney test, a Student's t-test, and Tukey's analysis of variance. The level of significance was set at 5 per cent. The median percentage of positive sites for the treated and control groups for VPI (1.25 +/- 2.37 and 1.25 +/- 5.45), GBI (0.95 +/- 1.81 and 1.23 +/- 2.14), and BOP (0.83 +/- 6.45 and 0.83 +/- 3.43) did not differ between groups. Mean PPD values were 1.33 +/- 0.19 and 1.34 +/- 0.14 for the treated and 1.40 +/- 0.24 and 1.39 +/- 0.25 for the control group. No intra- or intergroup differences were observed. For the control group, the smallest PPD was at the canines followed by premolars and molars. PPD was less for premolars than molars but similar to the canines in the treated group. No differences in CAL were observed between the examined teeth in the control group. For the treated group, the canines showed lower CAL values than the first molars. The results indicate that the use of orthodontic appliances is not necessarily related to a worsening of periodontal conditions.