Abstract :
Many methods have been explored to reduce the orthodontic treatment time by speeding up the rate of tooth movement. One of them was the low-intensity electrical stimulation (LIES). This preliminary report aimed to investigate the effects Of LIES on root resorption and periodontal status during the en-masse retraction of the upper anterior teeth. This single-group prospective pilot interventional study was conducted at the Department of Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Damascus University, between April 2019 and January 2021. The sample consisted of ten adult patients (7 females, and 3 males; mean age 21.1 ± 2.59 years) with skeletal and dental class II div I malocclusion, and their camouflage treatment plane included extraction of the upper first premolars and en-masse retraction of the upper anterior teeth. The electrical stimulation was applied on the maxillary anterior region during the en-masse retraction phase using a specially fabricated removable device. Patients were asked to wear their own electrical devices inside their mouths for five hours daily. The studied outcomes were the external apical root resorption (EARR), and the periodontal status of the upper anterior teeth during the treatment stages. The proportion of teeth affected by EARR during the leveling and alignment phase was significantly greater than that during the en-masse retraction phase (47.6% and 30% respectively; P= 0.002). However, no significant differences between the two treatment stages were found regarding the mean amount of resorptions, except for the lateral incisors (P=0.43, P=0.42 for the right and left lateral incisors respectively). A slight increase was noted in the means of plaque, gingival, and papillary bleeding indices at the end of the en-masse retraction (T2) phase, which became 0.50, 0.28, and 0.20 respectively, compared to 0.27, 0.21, and 0.18 at baseline (P= 0.001, P= 0.123, and P= 0.103 respectively). Acceleration the en-masse retraction of the upper anterior teeth using low-intensity electrical stimulation according to the current protocol was associated with mild root resorption in almost one-third of the studied teeth, and a slight increase in the periodontal indices.