The effect of gingival fiberotomy on the rate of tooth movement.

This study was designed to assess the gingival tissue resistance to remodeling in determining the rate of orthodontic tooth movement. Closed coil spring orthodontic appliances were stretched bilaterally between the first molars and incisors in the maxillary arches of 18 adult rats. The resistance of gingival tissues was eliminated around the randomly chosen first molars by a circumferential fiberotomy procedure. Movements of teeth were measured on submental vertex radiographs against the metallic implants that were placed in zygomatic processes. The data were analyzed by randomized block design analysis of variance. During the 30-day experimental period, the teeth that underwent the fiberotomy procedure moved faster (0.63 mm versus 0.51 mm, P less than 0.05), indicating that the resistance of gingival tissues may be a rate-limiting factor in orthodontic tooth movement.