Pulsating forces in orthodontics

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“…Vibration therapy has been successful in improving or maintaining bone and muscle mass in cases such as mobility impaired patients, decreased bone density and in surgical healing. The first known attempt to apply pulsating forces to the dentition in an orthodontic application with humans was likely conducted by Everett Shapiro et al [3] Vibration in orthodontics has been applied with the main aim of increasing the rate of orthodontic tooth movement by accelerating the periodontal and bony tissue modelling and remodelling processes. This has the benefit of decreasing the duration that a patient has fixed appliances on their teeth.…”

Role of Vibrations in Orthodontics: A Review

“…The first known attempt to apply pulsating forces to the dentition in an orthodontic application with humans was likely conducted by Everett Shapiro et al 2 Davidovitch et al suggested orthodontic tooth movement may be accelerated by the use of locally applied electric currents. 6 The rate of movement as well as the total movement was found to be greater with the pulsed tooth than in the control tooth with the rate of movement being two-fold higher at times.…”

“…6 The rate of movement as well as the total movement was found to be greater with the pulsed tooth than in the control tooth with the rate of movement being two-fold higher at times. 2,7,8 In a monkey model, tooth movement rates up to 40% faster were demonstrated in response to vibration as early as 1986 by Shimizu et al 9,10 More recently, H. Utomo (Airlangga University) has suggested via literature search that patients who regularly chews gum (a crude form of vibratory force application) exhibit accelerated rates of tooth movement. It is believed that orthodontic tooth movement is accompanied by "site-specific" alveolar bone remodelling & is essential for tooth movement.…”