Abstract
As the number of elderly orthodontic patients increases, the impact of postmenopausal osteoporosis on orthodontic tooth movement (OTM) has attracted a great deal of attention because OTM relies on alveolar bone remodeling. The question of whether OTM causes subsequent alveolar bone loss and is harmful to alveolar bone health under osteoporotic conditions remains to be answered. The present study aimed to clarify the influences of OTM on alveolar bone in osteoporotic rats. OTM was accelerated in ovariectomized (OVX) rats as a result of increased bone resorption in the pressure area. At the same time, anabolic bone formation was promoted in the tension area during OTM in OVX rats. Micro-CT analysis of alveolar bone revealed a decrease in BMD, BV/TV and Tb.Th. in the OTM group compared with that in non-OTM rats on day 21 of OTM, suggesting that OTM caused alveolar bone loss in OVX rats during OTM. However, the OTM-induced bone loss could be recovered 3 months after OTM in OVX rats. Thus, our findings suggest that increased osteogenesis may compensate for the increased bone resorption during and after OTM and enable effective accelerated OTM in OVX rats.
Highlights
With increased life-span, there is a concomitant increase in the number of elderly patients needing to undergo orthodontic treatment in preparation for prosthodontic treatment or to prevent periodontal diseases[1, 2]
orthodontic tooth movement (OTM) occurs through alveolar bone remodeling in response to mechanical stimuli, and predominantly consists of bone formation in the tension area and bone resorption in the pressure area[15, 31]
OVX rats were used to mimic the remodeling of periodontal tissue during OTM under osteoporotic conditions
Summary
With increased life-span, there is a concomitant increase in the number of elderly patients needing to undergo orthodontic treatment in preparation for prosthodontic treatment or to prevent periodontal diseases[1, 2]. Tan et al suggested that the increased rate of OTM in OVX rats was related to differential expression of OPG and RANKL, which are the key factors regulating osteoclast differentiation[18]. It seems that increased bone resorption caused by estrogen deficiency is the main cause of accelerated OTM in OVX rats. It is not clear whether estrogen deficiency results in loss of bone mass and damage to alveolar bone during OTM, which is the key factor www.nature.com/scientificreports/. We aimed to clarify the influences of OTM on alveolar bone in osteoporotic rats by analyzing the physical and metabolic changes of alveolar bone during and after OTM in OVX rats
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