Comparison Between the Effect of Toothbrush‐Generated Ultrasound and Vibration on Tooth Movement Acceleration During Levelling and Alignment: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

BACKGROUND: Ultrasound and vibration have been recently introduced as methods to enhance orthodontic treatment. Although multiple patents were designed for the intraoral application, the current study aimed to assess the effect of toothbrush-generated ultrasound and vibration, in an attempt to provide patients with a practical and available method that might be used in daily orthodontics practice. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The research sample consisted of 36 patients with moderate upper incisor's crowding who were randomly assigned into three equal groups (ultrasound, vibration and control groups). After bonding the fixed orthodontic appliance, the two interventional groups were asked to apply ultrasound and vibration for 15 min/day. Whilst the control group was not subjected to any physical stimulus. A series of dental impressions were taken each two weeks since treatment commencement. Treatment duration and percentage of improvement in Little's Irregularity Index (LII) were used to compare between the groups. RESULTS: The results showed a non-significant difference between the three groups in terms of the treatment duration (P = 0.571) and the percentage of improvement in LII measured from dental casts at all time points. CONCLUSION: The clinical application of both toothbrush-generated ultrasound and toothbrush-generated vibration, within the used parameters, had no effects on the total duration of treatment and tooth movement acceleration during levelling and alignment of moderate upper incisor's crowding. When comparing both approaches, no differential efficacy was observed at any time point. Future trials may investigate the effects of other parameters of ultrasound and vibration on tooth movement acceleration.