Clinically, orthodontic tooth movement (OTM) across the narrow alveolar ridge area inevitably entails some adverse reactions such as limited movement and periodontal tissue damage. Hence, it is essential to reconstruct the morphology of the alveolar crest before the tooth movement. Unlike the routine reconstruction of alveolar ridge in the field of implant, the orthodontic practices are distinctive, which require dental movement across the constructed alveolar ridge with safety and stability. Herein, we addressed the pros and cons of reconstruction of the defected orthodontic alveolar ridge with different bone graft materials. Attention is also paid to other factors such as the postgraft initiation time of OTM that can substantially influence the bone reconstruction and tooth movement effect. Rather, considering the lack of a unified standard in orthodontic clinics related to bone reconstruction for OTM, we provide some recommendations and guidance for OTM through alveolar ridge defect area. Impact statement Re-establishment of the atrophic alveolar bone before orthodontic tooth movement (OTM) is important for safe and efficient tooth movement. The most prevalent approach to regenerate alveolar bone in the defect rests on the application of bone grafts. This review evaluates the application of different bone graft materials to the reconstruction of alveolar ridge defects, and provides some recommendations and guidance for OTM through alveolar ridge defect area.
Keywords: allograft; autograft; bone graft material; orthodontic tooth movement; synthetic bone grafts; xenograft.