OrthoAccel® Technologies Inc, Houston, announced that the Journal of Clinical Orthodontics (JCO) has published results from “Accelerated Orthodontics Using Pulsatile Forces in Orthognathic Surgical Patients,” a case series examining accelerated treatment when incorporating AcceleDent® into combined orthodontic and orthognathic surgery cases. The cases included in the case series include orthodontists using techniques to both straighten the teeth (orthodontic) and correct structural conditions of the jaw or face (orthognathic).

Manufactured by OrthoAccel, AcceleDent is a vibratory orthodontic device used to speed up orthodontic treatment. This report is the first to publish results focused on AcceleDent’s use in multiple cases that combine orthodontic and orthognathic surgery, according to a press release from the company.

AcceleDent uses patented SoftPulse Technology® that “enhances physiological bone turnover enabling orthodontists to achieve predictable clinical outcomes.” Primary author Sharon Orton-Gibbs, BDS, FDS, DOrth, MOrth, MSc, a UK-based orthodontist who began prescribing AcceleDent to patients in 2009, found that the mean actual treatment time for the 15 orthodontic-orthognathic surgery patients who used AcceleDent in conjunction with their fixed appliance braces was 33% shorter than the predicted treatment time (14.9 months versus 22.2 months). Orton-Gibbs’ treatment time predictions were discussed and verified in a previously published 2015 JCO article.

“Prior to offering AcceleDent, none of my surgery patients finished treatment in less than 16 months. With AcceleDent, the fastest treatment time was 8½ months,” said Orton-Gibbs. “In my practice, treatment progressed faster and post-treatment healing was uneventful in orthognathic surgery patients who used AcceleDent.”

To accommodate for an estimated 30% to 50% reduction in treatment time with AcceleDent, Orton-Gibbs reportedly reduces the intervals between archwire changes by 25% to 33% during leveling and aligning for her surgery cases and was able to see patients every 5 days for the 5 weeks after surgery, rather than the standard weekly appointments for 6 weeks.

“Since orthodontics cannot begin until bone growth is complete, surgery has the potential to extend treatment times,” said Orton-Gibbs. “That’s why I believe surgery patients are especially interested in accelerating treatment with AcceleDent.”

Reporting that 83% of her surgery patients chose to use AcceleDent, she also noted that two of the patients chose AcceleDent because they desired to complete treatment prior to relocating to attend university within the year. A third patient who is self-employed chose AcceleDent to ensure that her surgery could be performed when she was least busy with work.

The article appears in the December issue of JCO. In the article’s introduction, Orton-Gibbs provides a synopsis of previously published peer-reviewed studies examining AcceleDent’s safety and effectiveness.