The effects of corticotomies on tooth movement in fox hound dogs

Alveolar corticotomies in orthodontic treatment may make teeth move more rapidly. This study used a split-mouth design to evaluate if corticotomies increased tooth movement, and whether a second corticotomy would further increase tooth movement. Mandibular third and maxillary second premolars of 5 skeletally mature Fox Hounds were extracted. One randomly selected mandibular quadrant had buccal and lingual corticotomies performed around the 2nd premolar; both maxillary quadrants had initial buccal corticotomies and one randomly selected quadrant had a second buccal corticotomy after 28 days. Coil springs were used to move the mandibular 2nd and maxillary 3rd premolar with guiding wire. Radiographic measurements showed mandibular tooth movement rates increasing initially and then decreasing with an 85% peak difference between experimental and control. Total mandibular tooth movement was 2.4mm (experimental) and 1.26mm (control). The maxillary rates decreased regularly over time; tooth movement was 2.0mm (initial corticotomy only) and 2.3mm (with second corticotomy).