Comparison of the effects of piezocision and micro-osteoperforations on the rate of orthodontic tooth movement during maxillary canine retraction

Various attempts have been made to shorten time necessary for orthodontic treatment. The use of medications, mechanical and physical stimulations, and surgical interventions have attracted considerable scientific interest. Over the years, several surgical techniques have been developed to reduce the overall treatment time. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of two minimally invasive procedures; the first one being piezocision, and the second micro-osteoperforations, on the rate of orthodontic tooth movement during maxillary canine retraction. The sample consisted of 12 patients exhibiting malocclusion requiring therapeutic extraction of the maxillary premolars, with subsequent retraction of the maxillary canine. One side of the maxillary arch was randomly assigned to receive piezocision, and on the opposite side micro-osteoperforations were performed. Canine retraction was started on both sides 6 months after the extraction of premolars and immediately after the surgical procedures; by using closing coil NiTi spring that applied force of 150 g. Miniscrews were used as anchorage device in both sides. The patients were evaluated every 3 weeks for total follow-up period of 6 weeks. The obtained results showed that the amount of canine distalization on the piezocision side after 3 weeks was1.22±0.15 mm, after 6 weeks of retraction the canine moved distally 2.21±0.3 mm. On the other hand, on micro-osteoperforations side, and after 3 weeks the canine moved distally 0.81±0.24 mm and moved 1.6±0.34 after 6 weeks. The rate of canine retraction was statistically significantly higher on the piezocision side compared to the MOPs side. No significant amounts of anchorage loss or canine rotation were observed in this study.