Local delivery of osteoprotegerin may be a way of reinforcing orthodontic anchorage.

One of the most challenging problems in orthodontics is anchorage. The traditional mechanical methods of reinforcing anchorage are limited by multiple factors, but a pharmacological approach aimed at utilizing the known biological mechanisms underlying tooth movement may provide an ideal way of reinforcing orthodontic anchorage. So we make the hypotheses that if the resorptive process of modeling during tooth movement can be inhibited, tooth movement may be inhibited as well. Since osteoprotegerin (OPG) has been found to be a key factor in the inhibition of osteoclast differentiation and activation, and involved in mechano-modulation of bone modeling, its local delivery adjacent to the anchorage teeth may provide a novel pharmacological approach for preventing unneeded tooth movement that is highly desirable for reinforcing orthodontic anchorage.