Drugs Influencing Orthodontic Tooth Movement

Orthodontic treatment relies on the assumption that once the force is delivered to a tooth and in turn transmitted to the adjacent tissues, bound mechanical, chemical, and cellular events crop up among these tissues, which permit for structural alterations and contribute to the movement of that tooth.

Drugs that influence orthodontic tooth movement are categorized into six different groups namely:

• Hormones
• Bisphosphonates
• Vitamin D metabolites
• Non-steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs
• Fluorides
• Eicosanoids

Patients undergoing thyroxine administration tend to have an increase in the speed of orthodontic tooth movement during this time. Administration of this home increases bone remodeling and reduces its density.

Bisphosphonates

These drugs potentially stop bone resorption. They are used to treat metabolic bone diseases involving an increase in bone resorption. The effect is that it stopped orthodontic tooth movement and delayed the treatment

Vitamin D metabolites

The stimulatory effect it has on osteoclasts make it believable that it is a resorption promoting agent. In this case, since it encourages calcium absorption, it is an inhibitor of tooth movement.

Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs

Some NSAIDs are known to promote or reduce tooth movement. Over-the-counter drugs such as aspirins, diclofenac, ibuprofen tend to inhibit bone resorption and in turn, reduces tooth movement. There is significant evidence that shows that these drugs alter the efficiency of tooth movement.
Patients undergoing this type of treatment advised to slow down on taking aspirin as it may prolong the process of tooth movement.

Fluorides

The growth of osteoclasts is influenced more by fluoride. Therefore it is a fact that fluoride may stop the movement of a tooth during the orthodontic treatment. Osteoclasts are known to increase bone mass and their density.

When it is sodium fluoride form, it is known to stop the resorption process thus inhibiting the tooth movement and slowing the orthodontic treatment.

Eicosanoids

Prostaglandins are the primary mediators of mechanical stress when the orthodontic tooth movement process is underway. They increase bone resorption and in turn tooth movement. This is by increasing the number of osteoclasts present.