Osseous evidence behind micro-osteoperforation technique in accelerating orthodontic tooth movement: A 3-month study

Abstract

The study aimed to investigate the effects of micro-osteoperforations (MOPs) on the mandibular bone volume/tissue volume (BV/TV) ratio changes and the rate of orthodontic tooth movement using cone-beam computed tomography images. Another objective was to evaluate the effects of MOP frequency intervals (4weeks, 8weeks, and 12weeks) on the BV/TV ratio and rate of tooth movement. In 24 participants, 140-200g of force was applied for mandibular canine retraction. Three MOPs were made according to the scheduled intervals of the 3 different groups: group 1 (MOP 4weeks), group 2 (MOP 8weeks), and group 3 (MOP 12weeks) directly at the mandibular buccal cortical bone of extracted first premolars sites. Cone-beam computed tomography scans were obtained at the 12th week after MOP application. Computed tomography Analyzer software (version 1.11.0.0; Skyscan, Kontich, Belgium) was used to compute the trabecular alveolar BV/TV ratio. A significant difference was observed in the rate of canine movement between control and MOP. Paired t test analysis showed a significant difference (P=0.001) in the mean BV/TV ratio between control and MOP sides in all the frequency intervals groups. However, the difference was significant only in group 1 (P=0.014). A strong negative correlation (r=-0.86) was observed between the rate of canine tooth movement and the BV/TV ratio at the MOP side for group 1 and all frequency intervals together (r=-0.42). The rate of orthodontic tooth movement can be accelerated by the MOP technique with frequently repeated MOPs throughout the treatment.