Orthodontic Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Orthodontic, including details on braces, retainers, treatment.

Optical approach for monitoring the periodontal ligament changes induced by orthodontic forces around maxillary anterior teeth of white rats.

Na J, Lee BH, Baek JH, Choi ES

Department of Information and Communications, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), 1 Oryong-dong, Buk-gu, Gwangju, 500-712, South Korea, jhna@gist.ac.kr.

Structural variations of the periodontal ligament (PDL) induced by orthodontic forces have been evaluated by optical coherence tomography (OCT) and compared to images obtained by conventional radiography. Here, two specially designed orthodontic appliances were installed on the maxillary anterior teeth of white rats for applying different magnitudes of orthodontic forces. Constant distraction force magnitudes of 0, 5, 10, and 30 gf were given to four respective rats over a period of 5 days. At the end of the treatment period, the rats were sacrificed and the maxillaries were extracted for X-ray and OCT imaging. The PDL variations, proportional to the force magnitude, were clearly indicated in the OCT measurements. The OCT images further showed that the ligament was torn for a constant orthodontic force of 30 gf. These results support the clinical dental application of OCT for monitoring the ligament changes during orthodontic procedures. The real-time imaging capability of OCT, together with its high resolution, has the potential to help dentists with in vivo orthodontic treatments in human subjects as well.

Published 20 May 2008 in Med Biol Eng Comput, 46(6): 597-603.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2005-2008 Orthodontic Research Today. All Rights Reserved.