Accelerated Orthodontics: How You Can Achieve a New Smile In Half the Time of Traditional Treatment
The journey to achieving an amazing smile is sometimes hindered by the length of treatment time required by traditional braces or clear aligner services, such as Invisalign. Though these orthodontic treatments offer both life-changing aesthetic and functional improvements of the mouth and associated supporting facial structures, for some, the task of changing aligners, keeping frequent appointments, or sporting metal brackets and elastic bands is a cumulative no-go.
Fortunately, modern technology has devised solutions to help drastically decrease treatment time as well as office visits through utilizing clinical treatment methods like micro-osteoperforations and at-home devices such as PROPEL’s product VPro and The Aevo System by Smile Sonica. These supplemental applications can potentially decrease your orthodontic treatment time by half!
What is Accelerated Orthodontics?
Accelerated orthodontics is a blanket phrase that refers to the many treatment methods orthodontic providers use to speed up treatment time. Typically, most comprehensive ortho cases take anywhere from 12-24 months to complete, though each case is specific to the patient and can vary. While scientists are researching pharmacological agents to assist in orthodontic movement, most modern-day accelerated methods rely on physical stimulation and surgery of oral tissue including using vibrations, electromagnetic fields, photo biomodulation (the use of red light), and corticotomy, to name a few. This article will focus on the implementation of micro-osteoperforations and high-frequency vibrational devices such as PROPEL’s VPro and the newest in orthodontic technology, the Aevo System which uses low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS).
What are Micro-Osteoperforations?
Before we dive deeper into micro-osteoperforations, let’s first explore some basic details of how teeth move during treatment. Orthodontics is made possible by our bone cells’ response to tension and stretching forces applied to our teeth via archwires and other appliances. Force is applied to the tooth, encouraging it to move in the desired direction. At a molecular level, bone cells called osteoblasts and osteoclasts respond to this force, resorbing and depositing new bone, effectively re-landscaping the bone surrounding the teeth to suit the new orientation. This is a very slow process, taking approximately 4-6 weeks for the new bone to form, thus encouraging researchers to develop alternative methods to speed up this process.
Micro-osteoperforations are performed by a board-certified orthodontist and rendered in-office using PROPEL’s single-use perforating device as shown below.
Using the device, small perforations, or holes, are drilled between stubborn teeth resisting movement. The doctor will place the micro-perforations on the side of the tooth where movement is desired. These micro-perforations work to enhance your body’s natural inflammatory response, as the tiny holes drilled in the surrounding tissue encourage osteoblasts and osteoclasts, as well as other inflammatory cells to respond; this intends to stimulate the teeth to move more efficiently and quickly.
Are Micro-Osteoperforations Painful?
PROPEL’s VPro is a small, handheld device with a horseshoe-like extension that sits between the upper and lower teeth and is used both by patients in clear aligners and traditional braces. The VPro™ uses a specific high-frequency vibration (HFV) to help increase blood flow and circulation to the supporting gum and bone tissue around your teeth. This enables your clear aligners to sit correctly on the teeth, ensuring the proper fit required to move teeth effectively. Many patients in clear aligner therapy report their aligners fitting more comfortably and can typically reduce their treatment time by half by using this handheld device.
Your board-certified orthodontist will use a local anesthetic to numb the area, making treatment painless. Some patients report feeling mild soreness after the numbing wears off. To combat this, we recommend taking over-the-counter pain medications, as your doctor may recommend acetaminophen, like Tylenol, and avoiding anti-inflammatory medications, which work to relieve inflammation and counteract the body’s natural inflammation response intended to accelerate orthodontic movement. Rinsing with warm salt water, or a prescribed antibacterial mouth rinse can also provide comfort after the procedure is completed.
What is VPro by PROPEL?
PROPEL’s VPro is a small, handheld device with a horseshoe-like extension that sits between the upper and lower teeth and is used both by patients in clear aligners and traditional braces. The VPro™ uses a specific high-frequency vibration (HFV) to help increase blood flow and circulation to the supporting gum and bone tissue around your teeth. This enables your clear aligners to sit correctly on the teeth, ensuring the proper fit required to move teeth effectively. Many patients in clear aligner therapy report their aligners fitting more comfortably and can typically reduce their treatment time by half by using this handheld device.
The Aevo System
While high-frequency vibration products like PROPEL’s VPro are the most commonly used devices in the United States for accelerated orthodontics, scientists in Canada have developed and released new technology using low-intensity pulsed ultrasound therapy (LIPUS) to produce even faster, safer results. LIPUS has been used in medicine for a while. In fact, it has been used in the orthopedic field for over 30 years to assist in bone remodeling and advanced healing and has been used for over a decade to assist orthodontic treatment.
The Aevo System is a hand-held prescription device developed to accelerate orthodontic movement while reducing the risk of root resorption, an undesirable complication in orthodontics. Root resorption is when the body breaks down and absorbs the bone surrounding the tooth, causing permanent loss of tooth structure from the root apex (the top of the tooth connecting to your jaw bone). This occurs when too much force is applied to the teeth too quickly, leaving the new bone material insufficient time to stabilize between movements. Aevo’s low-intensity pulsed ultrasound technology penetrates the bone tissue and encourages the bone cells to begin the remodeling process at about twice the rate of unassisted treatment while simultaneously reducing the risk of root resorption. This is an exceptionally exciting development for patients looking for fast orthodontic correction without the added complication of potentially damaging bone tissue. Case studies demonstrate that using the Aevo system during orthodontic treatment can decrease treatment time by nearly half, cutting back the number of required office visits while providing the same, beautiful functional results of unassisted orthodontic treatment.
The Aevo system is easy to use. Patients receive the handheld device with a case, charging cord, and dental-safe ultrasound gel. After applying the gel to the tray, patients place the device in their mouth for a daily 20-minute session and let LIPUS work its magic. The mechanical energy from the ultrasound encourages bone remodeling cells to begin absorbing and creating new bone in the correct position at a much faster rate. Once complete, the device is cleaned and stored back in its protective case until its next use. The system comes with an optional mobile app that helps your orthodontist track your treatment, encouraging you to use the system as prescribed by your orthodontist.
Why Introduce Accelerated Orthodontics?
There are many reasons why orthodontists and patients prefer to use these treatment methods, the most common being a drastic decrease in treatment time. Some patients may require more than one phase of treatment, starting their first phase when they are a child, and moving into more complex treatment once their facial structures and adult teeth fully develop. When faced with a multi-phase treatment plan spanning many years, a chance to accelerate the timeline is appreciated by many patients. Similarly, the field of orthodontics has seen an increasing number of adult patients looking for treatment, some of whom experience a relapse from previous orthodontic treatment following improper retainer compliance; many adult patients simply want to capitalize on the discrete technology of clear aligners.
Additionally, completing treatment early and removing brackets, wires, and other required appliances allows patients to clean their teeth more effectively, making their oral hygiene routine and cavity prevention much easier. Extended treatment time can potentially increase the decalcification of teeth, inflammation, recession of the gums, and root resorption. Lastly, many orthodontists use aspects of accelerated orthodontics such as micro-osteoperforations to target stubborn, unmoving teeth to shift as needed.
Is There Anyone Who Shouldn’t Undergo Accelerated Orthodontics?
Accelerated orthodontics is not for everyone. Patients with bone disease and periodontal disease are not good candidates, as the supporting bone tissue may not be strong enough to support the treatment. Ask your orthodontist if accelerated orthodontics is a treatment option available to you.
Conclusion
The science of orthodontics has evolved tremendously over the last decade and treatment modalities have been fine-tuned to safely accommodate our fast-paced lives and make treatment more enjoyable and efficient for both practitioners and patients. The Aveo system and its low-intensity pulsed ultrasound therapy are considered the newest and hottest technology in the field with proven results. Followed by micro-osteoperforations and intraoral vibration devices like those offered by PROPEL. If you or your child is interested in seeing how accelerated orthodontics can transform your smile, give our office a call today and schedule a complimentary consultation with Dr. Daia!
