Evening primrose oil effects on osteoclasts during tooth movement.

This study was conducted to investigate the influence of supplemented evening primrose oil (EPO) on osteoclast expression during experimental tooth movement in rats. Forty-eight 10-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into experimental and control groups. Animals in the experiment group were fed a 7.25 g/kg daily dose of EPO orally by gastric intubation for 20 days before orthodontic tooth movement. The animals in the control group received an equivalent volume of distilled water by the same method. On day 21, a 40-g mesial tipping force was applied to the maxillary right first molar of each rat. After loading, six animals in each group were sacrificed on days 0, 3, 7, and 14 with the appliance in situ. On day 3, the number of osteoclasts on the appliance side of the experimental group was significantly increased compared with the control group (P < .05). On day 7, the number of osteoclasts on the non-appliance side of the experimental group was significantly increased compared with the control group (P < .05). This study indicates that oral administration of EPO can increase the number of osteoclasts and may accelerate orthodontic tooth movement.