Periodontists’ Attitudes and Professional Behavior Towards Surgically Facilitated Orthodontic Tooth Movement—A U.S. National Survey

Background: Periodontally accelerated osteogenic orthodontics (PAOO) is a surgical procedure to accelerate orthodontic tooth movement and minimize periodontal complications. This study surveyed U.S. periodontists to assess various aspects of the procedure as regards prevalence, training, and execution. Methods: The authors developed a unique questionnaire, the first national study of this type, housed on the Qualtrics® survey platform, to analyze trends in PAOO training and use. Unique recruitment emails were sent to 3154 members of the American Academy of Periodontology. 449 U.S. periodontists/3154 surveyed (14.2%) responded to this web-based, anonymized survey. IBM statistical software (SPSS V28) was used for data analysis. Results: Among respondents, PAOO training was received during residency (32.7%) and by continuing education (CE) (50.8%), with higher CE (57.3%) by those who did not receive PAOO residency training (p < 0.001). 38.5% of periodontists perform PAOO, and those most likely to perform PAOO had both PAOO residency training and CE, with 78.5% performing 1–5 cases/year. Most (87.7%) received 1–2 PAOO referrals/year from orthodontists or general dentists. Differences in techniques and materials were the type of bone graft or membrane used, the position of corticotomies, and the timing of orthodontic movement. The primary PAOO goal was “rapid tooth movement” (41.1%) and to “increase the alveolar housing” (37.2%). The secondary (38%) and tertiary (37.2%) ranked goals were “augment dehiscence or fenestration”, with the “prevention of apical root resorption” ranked as their quaternary goal. Conclusions: The results of this survey provide data on the trends, training, and use of PAOO among U.S. periodontists. This information may aid in developing residency curriculum and performing PAOO research.