Study of the velocity of upper canine retraction after alveolar corticotomy
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of alveolar corticotomy on orthodontic tooth movement when retracting upper canines compared with the conventionnal treatment. The sample consisted of 30 patients with a mean age of 21 ± 2 years requiring the therapeutic extraction of the maxillary first premolars, with subsequent retraction of the maxillary canines. The subjects were divided into two groups, one receiving orthodontic treatment assisted corticotomy (experimental group) and the other conventional treatment (control group). The velocity of the retraction of the upper canine was evaluated by measuring the distance between the canine and second premolar on each side of the mouth for both groups at 2 months, and 4 months after canine retraction. Results: the velocity of canine was significantly higher on the experimental group than the control group by two times during the first two months after canine retraction. This rate declined to 1.25 times higher after four months. Conclusion: alveolar corticotomy increased orthodontic tooth movement when retracting upper canines.