Micro-osteoperforations' impact on orthodontic tooth movement rate: Split mouth research

Micro-osteoperforations (MOP) accelerate tooth movement by enhancing osteoclastic activity thereby reducing overall treatment time. Therefore, it is of interest to report current research to evaluate the outcome of micro-osteoperforations on the rate of orthodontic canine retraction. We assessed their potential for accelerating tooth movement during fixed orthodontic treatment. Maxillary arch of 16 selected participants was randomly alienated into experimental and control side. After extraction of maxillary first premolars and completion of alignment and levelling, micro-osteoperforations were performed on the experimental side. 150-gram force was applied on both sides using NiTi closed coil spring for canine retraction. Tooth movement measurements were obtained at 4, 8, and 12 weeks to evaluate effectiveness of MOP's. MOPs effectively accelerate orthodontic tooth movement during the 1st 4 weeks of canine retraction. The technique does not increase tipping, anchorage loss, or patient discomfort.