What is Accelerated Orthodontics?

Fast Tracked patients in our practice undergo accelerated orthodontics. Although Fast Tracked patients complete their treatment in less time than traditional orthodontic patients, they are seen more often. This ultimately results in Fast Tracked patients having the same number of visits as our traditional patients. We appreciate the stressful demands that this can make on some patient’s schedules so we make every effort to accommodate their needs.

 

Traditionally, orthodontic treatment takes such a long time because of insufficient size, shape and responsiveness of the bone that surrounds the teeth. The slow and continual application of orthodontic forces, to an unaltered bone, triggers a resorptive/absorptive cycle resulting in extremely slow tooth transport. This is the mechanism that orthodontists have used to move teeth for the past 200 years. Accelerated orthodontics solves this dilemma by employing advanced orthodontics and by exploiting the dynamics of bone physiology of an activated tooth-supporting bone. By stimulating and harnessing the innate potentials of living bone, the teeth can be moved at an accelerated rate through newly formed viable bone.

 

Activation of the bone housing involves the selective vertical scratching and stippling of the outer aspects of the bone that surrounds the teeth. The procedure is performed with a piezosurgical technique by a specialty trained dental surgeon (periodontist or oral surgeon). Thanks to controlled three-dimensional ultrasound vibrations, maximal surgical precision is accomplished without soft tissue injury in a practically blood free surgical field. Artificial particulate bone grafting material is placed over the activated bone (augmentation) prior to suturing. The activated tooth-supporting bone will permit accelerated tooth movement two weeks post operatively. Both upper and lower jaws can undergo the procedures at the same in-office appointment. A single tooth can also undergo the procedures included in accelerated orthodontics.

 

The reactivity and responsiveness of upper and lower jaws to activation and augmentation is consistent with the cell biology and physiologic stages seen in the wound healing pattern of the regional acceleration phenomenon (RAP). Striking bursts in bone activity (demineralization and remineralization) occurs adjacent to the site of the activation and augmentation. Accelerated orthodontics demonstrates how the biologic response can be modified to the patient’s advantage. Truly: in vivo tissue engineering.

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Additional benefits of rapid tooth movement through activated and augmented bone include:

• Repair of pretreatment bony defects in the bone that supports the teeth.

• Fewer extractions

• Less need for corrective jaw surgery

• Increased bone volume can be used to improve the esthetics by size enhancement. Bony concavities can be diminished selectively

• Post orthodontic stability increase as evidenced by a decrease in relapse tendency towards pretreatment positions

 

Wilckodontics is a registered trademark, and Accelerated Osteogenic OrthodonticsTM and AOOTM are trademarks of Wilckodontics, Inc. Copyright 1998 - 2006 Wilckodontics, Inc. US Patent #6,109,916.