Dental Asia September/October 2021

Clinical Feature
Updated literature review
on accelerated orthodontics
with relevant case reports
Several conflicting studies on the use of vibration to shorten the
treatment time of orthodontics had been noted in the recent
literature. For this reason, Dr Kevin Ng, Dr How Kim Chuan and
Dr David Tan share two case reports demonstrating how to safely
accelerate tooth movements using an orthodontic vibrator.
By Dr Kevin Ng, Dr How Kim Chuan, and Dr David Tan
Orthodontic tooth movements take a
long time to complete with an average
treatment time of about 24 to 36
months, and this has been one of the
main reasons that hinder patients from
receiving treatment.
To avoid long-term suffering and
enhance patient cooperation and
compliance, tooth movement can be
accelerated by mechanical vibrations to
shorten treatment times.
Although every clinician holds different
views regarding the effects and
outcomes of accelerated orthodontics,
two complicated cases were reported in
this paper performed using 0.2N 30Hz
vibrator for 20 minutes daily.
It was revealed that there is a 50%
treatment time gained for the whole
Invisalign treatment course with
acceptable results.
CASE REPORT 1
Mr YKC, 24, came to the clinic requesting
for correction of his teeth in preparation
for his wedding photoshoot scheduled
in about a year’s time.
The chief complaint was anterior
cross bite with severe crowding in
both arches. The treatment plan was
to remove all four first premolars and
use Invisalign with vibrator (0.2N Force
30Hz) to accelerate the treatment time.
The ClinCheck was set up after the
extractions and there were 68 pairs of
aligners for the first set. The patient was
advised to wear two aligners per week
(previously one aligner per week) with
vibrator for 20 minutes daily.
After 34 weeks, all the extractions
spaces were closed but presented with
posterior open bites. A second scan was
done to order refinement aligners. The
second set included 28 aligners and
the patient completed the treatment in
48 weeks. Radiographic findings were
normal.
The Vivera retainer was ordered and all
Case 1:
Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Fig. 3 Fig. 4
Figs. 1-2: Extraoral photos before and after treatment
Figs. 3-4: Intraoral photos before and after treatment
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DENTAL ASIA SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2021