The quest for a beautiful smile can take you in many directions, from traditional braces to new treatments that work with removable (and invisible) tooth aligners. These techniques work by applying force to misaligned teeth to reposition them (gradually) by reshaping surrounding bone.

The time it takes for patients to achieve results varies from patient to patient. Most patients, however, will wear braces for a year or longer. Without a doubt, the results are worth waiting for but…

…what if you didn’t have to wait as long?

We’re excited to report that thanks to a new orthodontic device using simple vibrations to encourage teeth being treated to get a move on, you don’t have to wait as long.

A View from the Orthodontists’ Chair

Dr Andrew Pitsis is a specialist orthodontist in Sydney who has been working with accelerated bone remodelling through mechanical vibration for over 12 months. A former orthodontia patient himself, he has this to say about accelerating realignment with tooth vibration:

“I like Acceledent because it offers an ultra-conservative and very comfortable way of promoting tooth movement gradually. Adult patients in particular are more likely to proceed with treatment due to the decreased treatment time. However, a too rapid approach can damage the roots, compromise the results or the long-term stability, so it is vital that when using Acceledent you are under the care of an orthodontist. My patients like the device because it reduces their treatment time, makes their treatment more comfortable and gives them a chance to take an active part in their own treatment.” – Dr Andrew Pitsis, Specialist Orthodontist.

Good Vibrations

This safe-for-home-use orthodontic tool may be new to you, but it’s a miracle that’s been in the making for more than a decade. Dr Jeremy Mao conducted the first animal studies in the early 2000’s, which initially served as the foundation for scientific research in this field. Dr Mao investigated the results of applying cyclic forces to move teeth more quickly by accelerating the bone remodelling process.

To speed up tooth realignment, a vibrating device is placed in the mouth for 20 minutes every day, as the patient clenches on its soft rubber mouthpiece. This transmits gentle vibrations to the teeth and the bone surrounding the teeth. The cells in the bone respond to the vibrations by causing the bone to remodel faster, and the teeth move the desired distance in less time.

“Adding Acceledent to my treatment means I have to wear my aligners for half the amount of time. My treatment plan went from 12 months down to, at this stage, five and a half months. The main reason I opted in is because I’m getting married and I want to have the finished product (perfect teeth!) on my big day.” – Alison Rice, PopSugar, Australia 

Shortening Orthodontic Treatment by 5 Months Or More

Alison Rice’s results are by no means unique. In a randomised clinical trial, Acceledent demonstrated with statistical significance that it could accelerate teeth movement by 106% during the initial alignment phase and 38% to 50% during closure of extraction space.

“Remarkably, the ‘orthodontic tooth movement (braces) + vibration’ group was distinguished from all the other groups, by showing 40% more tooth movement on the vibrated side than the non-vibrated side. Conclusion: Mechanical vibration accelerates orthodontic tooth movement.” – Acceleration of Orthodontic Tooth Movement by Mechanical Vibration

This means you will typically need to see your orthodontist every 3-4 weeks instead of every 6-8 weeks. Other factors that influence the overall treatment time other than how misaligned your teeth are, include the skill of the orthodontist and the quality of materials used.

The average cost of Acceledent is around $500, down from around $1500 when it launched.