Effects of mechanical vibrations on maxillary canine retraction and perceived pain: a pilot, single-center, randomized-controlled clinical trial

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of mechanical vibratory stimulation on maxillary canine retraction and pain perception in adolescents undergoing full-fixed orthodontic treatment with extraction. A pilot randomized-controlled clinical trial was conducted in one university orthodontic clinic. Twenty-one healthy adolescents who underwent full-fixed orthodontic treatment with maxillary first-premolar extraction were recruited. Subjects were randomly assigned to the experimental group (N = 10) that used a mechanical vibration device (AcceleDent Aura, OrthoAccel Technologies, Inc.) or the control group (N = 11) that did not receive a vibration device. The evaluation timepoints were T₀ = day of initial canine retraction; T₁ = 4 weeks post-initiation; T₂ = 8 weeks post-initiation; and T₃ = 12 weeks post-initiation. Three-dimensional palatal landmark superimpositions were made to assess amount of tooth movement (mm) at each visit, monthly rate of tooth movement (mm), and perceived pain levels (VAS scores). The total amount of tooth movement was observed in the control versus experimental groups, respectively, as 1.12 ± 0.22 mm versus 1.39 ± 0.36 mm at 4 weeks (p = 0.058), 2.59 ± 0.37 mm versus 2.49 ± 0.76 mm at 8 weeks (p = 0.702), and 3.54 ± 0.23 mm versus 3.37 ± 1.37 mm at 12 weeks (p = 0.716). The rate of tooth movement was 1.21 ± 0.32 mm/month in the control and 1.12 ± 0.20 mm/month in the experimental groups, which was not statistically significant at any of the timepoints and neither was the level of pain. This study found no statistically significant differences in canine retraction and pain perception between the experimental and control groups. We propose that further optimization of accelerated tooth movement with mechanical vibration devices is necessary.