A Novel Method to Accelerate Orthodontic Tooth Movement Using Low-Intensity Direct Electrical Current in Patients Requiring en-Masse Retraction of the Upper Anterior Teeth: A Preliminary Clinical Report

Rashad I Shaadouh; Mohammad Y Hajeer; Rabab Al-Sabbagh; Mohammad Khursheed Alam; Ghiath Mahmoud; Ghassan Idris

doi:10.7759/cureus.39438

A Novel Method to Accelerate Orthodontic Tooth Movement Using Low-Intensity Direct Electrical Current in Patients Requiring en-Masse Retraction of the Upper Anterior Teeth: A Preliminary Clinical Report

Cureus. 2023 May 24;15(5):e39438. doi: 10.7759/cureus.39438. eCollection 2023 May.

Authors

Rashad I Shaadouh¹, Mohammad Y Hajeer¹, Rabab Al-Sabbagh², Mohammad Khursheed Alam³, Ghiath Mahmoud¹, Ghassan Idris⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Damascus University, Damascus, SYR.
² Department of Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Hama University, Hama, SYR.
³ Department of Preventive Dentistry, College of Dentistry, Jouf University, Sakakah, SAU.
⁴ Department of Orthodontics, School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Griffith, Griffith, AUS.

Abstract

Background: Shortening the duration of orthodontic treatment by speeding up the rate of tooth movement has become an essential goal for both orthodontists and patients. This preliminary report aimed to investigate the safety and effectiveness of a new intraoral removable electrical device in accelerating the en-masse retraction of the upper anterior teeth using low-intensity direct electrical current.

Methods: This prospective preliminary interventional clinical study was conducted at the Department of Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Damascus University, Syria, between March 2019 and February 2020. The sample consisted of six patients (four females and two males; mean age: 19.55 ± 0.89 years) whose initial diagnosis was class II division I malocclusion, and their treatment plan suggested the extraction of upper first premolars followed by en-masse retraction. The electrical stimulation was applied on the maxillary anterior region during the en-masse retraction phase using a specially fabricated removable device that was designed by two coauthors of this manuscript (RIS, MYH). Patients were asked to wear their own electrical devices inside their mouths for five hours daily. The primary outcomes were the en-masse retraction rate and duration. The secondary outcomes were safety and patient acceptance.

Results: The average total retraction rate during the treatment period was 0.97±0.06 mm/month. The total amount of retraction achieved during follow-up was 5.65 ± 0.85 mm, which was about 91.86% of the space resulting from the extraction of the upper first premolars. The mean treatment duration to complete the en-masse retraction was 5.66±0.81 months. No side effects of the electrical stimulation were found during the follow-up.

Conclusions: Low-intensity direct electrical current could be an effective method to accelerate orthodontic movement. The electrical accelerating device used in this study effectively increased the en-masse retraction rate of the upper anterior teeth without any side effects and with high patient acceptance.

Keywords: acceleration of orthodontic tooth movement; electrical stimulation; en-masse retraction; orthodontic tooth movement; retraction rate; upper anterior teeth retraction.