Effects of vibration forces on maxillary expansion and orthodontic tooth movement

Abstract

Vibration forces (VF) have been shown to alter the formative and resorptive activities of bone. Studies have investigated the use of VF in applications such as the treatment of osteoporosis, bone fracture healing and implant osteointegration with favorable results. In dentistry, orthodontic tooth movement and maxillary suture expansion are common procedures typically requiring prolonged treatment durations with high relapse rates. We hypothesized that local, intermittent VF applications can enhance bone formation during rapid maxillary expansion and accelerate orthodontic tooth movement. Moreover, we also investigated expression of periostin/OSF-2, an adhesion molecule implicated in the formation of bone during maxillary suture expansion. Our results showed that intermittent VF significantly increased bone volume density of the expended palatal bone but limited the amount of palatal expansion and mineral apposition rate at the suture margins. Also, intermittent VF forces did not show statistically significant acceleration of orthodontic tooth movement but significantly enhanced bone volume density of the interradicular bone after tooth movement. Maxillary expansion was also shown to induce the expression of periostin which was proportional to the magnitude of the expansion force with increased bone mineral deposition.