Patients are often disappointed to know that their treatment will last 1 to 2 years… or even longer in some cases.
However, there is a way to shorten a treatment by 50% using corticotomies.
Indeed, teeth do not move at the speed that the orthodontist wants, and “tightening” the stronger appliance will not move the tooth faster, quite the contrary. Yes, high forces on the teeth cause micro-traumas and therefore healing times slowing down dental movement and sometimes even resorptions of the roots of the teeth. A tooth moves through the activity of several cells that absorb bone and desmodontal tissue around the tooth so that the tooth can move forward, while on the other side cells create bone so as not to create a void.
The displacement therefore depends on the number of cells that absorb the bone and not on the force applied to the tooth.
The corticotomy is a transgingival incision (without flap), made with a piezzo by a periodontist, between the teeth going to undergo a displacement, little painful it allows to accelerate the cellular renewal and thus the movement of the tooth.
This technique, unfortunately rarely used, can save several months of treatment.
Currently our firm combines it with Invisalign® techniques : the gutters normally worn for 2 weeks are only worn for one week.