Objective: To test the effect of alveolar surgery on orthodontic tooth movement and born remodeling.
Methods: Alveolar surgery was performed on one side (experimental side) whereas the traditional tooth movement was performed on the other side (control side) of the teeth in ten dogs. The treatments lasted for four weeks. The bone formation was evaluated using the vital bone marker tetracycline and immunohistochemistry 1, 2, 3, 4 and 8 weeks after the treatments respectively.
Results: In the total of the four weeks, the distal movement of experimental tooth was much faster (4.31 +/- 0.46 mm) than control tooth (2.16 +/- 0.42 mm), whereas the anchorage lost (0.44 +/- 0.07 mm) was the same with the control (0.46 +/- 0.09 mm). Compared to the control side, the tetracycline labeling lines were wider; the increase of the expression level of BMP-2 appeared earlier, greater and lasted longer in the tension area of the experimental side.
Conclusion: Alveolar surgery could promote bone remodeling and accelerate the movement of orthodontic teeth.