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Updated: Oct 22, 2025
Author Spotlight: 3D Movement Assessment of Maxillary Posterior Teeth in Clear Aligner Treatment
Published on: February 23, 2024
Effectiveness of microosteoperforations in accelerating alignment of maxillary anterior crowding in adults: A
Azaitun Akma Shahrin1, Sarah Haniza Abdul Ghani1, Noraina Hafizan Norman1
1Centre of Paediatric Dentistry and Orthodontic Studies, Faculty of Dentistry, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Jalan Hospital, Sungai Buloh, Selangor, Malaysia.
Introduction:
This trial aimed to investigate the effectiveness of microosteoperforations (MOPs) in overall time taken for alignment of maxillary anterior crowding and to evaluate the alignment improvement percentage within 6 months between MOPs and control groups.
Methods:
Thirty adult participants (25 females and 5 males; mean age, 22.66 ± 3.27 years) with moderate upper labial segment crowding were randomly assigned into intervention and control groups using block randomization. All participants had first premolar extractions, bonded conventional fixed appliances, and 0.014-in, followed by 0.018-in nickel-titanium archwire placement for initial alignment. The intervention group received a 3-mm deep MOPs procedure under local anesthesia using a Propel device (Propel Ortho Singapore, Pte, Ltd, Winstedt Rd, Singapore) on the labial attached gingivae of maxillary incisors at monthly visits until complete alignment. Little's irregularity index was used to assess the overall changes and measure the change of tooth alignment of the 6 maxillary anterior teeth. Assessor blinding was employed.
Results:
There was no statistically significant difference in the median overall alignment duration between MOPs and control groups (139 days [95% confidence interval, 115.32-161.83] vs 143 days [95% confidence interval, 107.12-179.74]; hazard ratio, 0.829; P = 0.467). The MOPs procedure had no significant effect on the alignment duration (P = 0.657) and no overall significant difference in alignment improvement percentage among 2 groups on the basis of time (F = 2.53; P = 0.124). No harm was encountered.
Conclusions:
The application of MOPs is no more effective in accelerating initial orthodontic alignment than conventional treatment.
Trial Registration:
This trial was registered at the ISRCTN registry with the study ID ISRCTN15080404.
Protocol:
https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN15080404.
Funding:
This work was supported by the Postgraduate Trust Fund, Faculty of Dentistry, Universiti Teknologi MARA.
