The impact of osteotomy technique for corticotomy-assisted orthodontic treatment (CAOT) on oral health-related quality of life

BACKGROUND: Corticotomy in accelerating orthodontic tooth movement, also defined as corticotomy-assisted orthodontic treatment (CAOT), is a promising technique that recently had many applications in orthodontics. AIM: The purpose of this study was to compare the use of piezoelectric surgery and conventional rotatory osteotomy technique for CAOT, determining the duration of surgery and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL). PATIENTS AND METHODS: CAOT was performed in a sample of subjects, randomly choosing piezoelectric: surgery (PS Group) or conventional rotary osteotomy technique (RT Group). The duration of surgery was recorded and the oral health-related quality of life evaluated using the short form Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) preoperatively, 3 and 7 days after surgery. t-test and Cronbach's alpha were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: 12 patients (mean age 14; range: 13-17) were enrolled. The time needed to complete the osteotomy cuts was greater (p = 0.1) for the piezoelectric surgery group (mean 34.3 minutes; range 35.3-32.6) than for the rotator group(mean 28.2 minutes; range 27.1-29.2). Oral health-related quality of life deteriorated from baseline (OHIP-14 mean: 6.33) to first follow-up, 3 day after surgery, in both groups (PS Group: 22.67 OHIP-14; RT Group: 21.33 OHIP-14). At 7 days follow-up there was a nearly complete recovery of the original OHIP-14 values, even faster with the conventional rotary osteotomy technique; however, no statistically significant differences were recorded between the two methods (p = 0.35). Cronbach's alpha values indicated an excellent internal consistency reliability. CONCLUSIONS: In clinical decision-making regarding the use of corticotomy-assisted orthodontic treatment, it should be aware of the expected decrease in oral health-related quality of life both using piezoelectric surgery or rotary osteotomy technique. In addition, the piezoelectric osteotomy requires a longer surgical time.