[Corticotomy--facilitated orthodontics]

Incorporating a surgical procedure with orthodontics makes it possible to complete treatment in a shorter period of time due to the ability to more rapidly move teeth. Corticotomy-facilitated orthodontics is a method of treatment that has the potential to greatly decrease the time involved and increase the quality of orthodontic services to the adult patient. The corticotomy procedure is a surgical technique in which a fissure is made through the cortical plate of bone that surrounds a tooth. The tooth is in a block of bone that is connected to other teeth and structures only through the medullary bone. This procedure claims that the teeth are more stable after this type of treatment may be due to less disruption of the periodontal ligament by osteoclastic activity and/or that the callus formed as bone heals leads to greater stability.