Comparison of Orthodontic Molar Protraction With and Without Adjunctive Surgery (PAOO)

A Prospective, Randomized Clinical Trial to Compare Orthodontic Molar Protraction With and Without Adjunctive Periodontally Accelerated Osteogenic Orthodontic (PAOO) Surgery.

This study will compare orthodontic molar protraction with and without adjunctive periodontally accelerated osteogenic orthodontic (PAOO) surgery prior to orthodontic tooth movement.

To the investigators' knowledge, this type of molar retraction in adult patients has not been compared with and without the adjunctive use of PAOO for differences in clinical linear tooth movement and patient centered outcomes (discomfort, change in daily activities, satisfaction with esthetic outcomes) in a controlled study.

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Malocclusion
• Intervention / Treatment: Procedure: Orthodontic Molar Protraction; Procedure: Orthodontic Molar Protraction and PAOO

Detailed Description

Research data and daily clinical observations reveal that molar protraction (forward movement) in adult patients may be prolonged and ideal outcomes may not be achieved with traditional orthodontic tooth movement. One method for enhancing orthodontic tooth movement is the use of surgical access of the local site to initiate a regional tissue reaction to induce trauma, which leads to a limited inflammatory healing process. This process is also known as regional acceleratory phenomenon (RAP), which allows for more rapid bone turnover and has been shown in other protocols to enhance orthodontic tooth movement. While PAOO has been shown to rapidly increase tooth movement, to our knowledge, localized use of PAOO in combination with molar protraction in adults has not been evaluated in a prospective trial for differences in clinical outcomes (tooth movement time, adverse orthodontic outcomes, periodontal and soft tissue defects) and patient-centered outcomes (pain, swelling, change in daily activities, patient assessment of surgical benefit, and patient-assessed esthetics) in a controlled study.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 40
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Maria L. Geisinger, DDS,MS; Phone Number: 996-7011; Email: mlgdds@uab.edu
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Sarah Startley; Phone Number: 205-975-8711

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 99 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• English speaking
• At least 18 years old
• Must be a patient of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Dental School
• Able to read and understand informed consent document
• One or more nonadjacent 1st or 2nd molar teeth that require protraction of ≥ 5 mm in patients undergoing orthodontic tooth movement
• Presence of periodontally healthy, non-carious neighboring teeth, healthy implants or edentulous ridges on either side of the involved site(s)
• No anticipated need for restorative care at the teeth to be treated during the study period.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Non-English speaking
• Less than 18 years old
• Smokers/tobacco users (>10 cigarettes/day)
• Patients with systemic pathologies or conditions contraindicating oral surgical procedures or adversely affecting wound healing
• Presence of active periodontal disease, caries, and/or periapical pathology at teeth to be moved orthodontically
• Previous orthodontic therapy involving molar protraction of teeth to be treated
• Previous periodontal surgery at site(s) to be treated

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Orthodontic Molar Protraction; Molar protraction using orthodontic tooth movement alone	Procedure: Orthodontic Molar Protraction; Standard orthodontic molar protraction using traditional bands/brackets and orthodontic wires.
Experimental: Orthodontic Molar Protraction and PAOO; Molar protraction using orthodontic tooth movement and adjunctive Periodontally Accelerated Osteogenic Orthodontics (PAOO)	Procedure: Orthodontic Molar Protraction and PAOO; Molar Protraction with Orthodontic Tooth Movement and Adjunctive Periodontally Accelerated Osteogenic Orthodontics (PAOO) Surgery was performed on all study sites in this arm in coordination with standard orthodontic molar protraction using traditional bands/brackets and orthodontic wires.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Linear millimeters of molar tooth movement	Compare the clinical linear molar tooth movement over a 3 month time frame (Baseline to 3 months) between two groups receiving orthodontic therapy alone or in combination with periodontally accelerated osteogenic orthodontics (PAOO).	From baseline to 3months
Tooth angulation as measured radiographically	Compare the radiographic mesial inclination of the molar to be protracted over a 3-month time frame (Baseline to 3 months) between two groups receiving orthodontics therapy alone or in combination with periodontally accelerated osteogenic orthodontics (PAOO).	From baseline to 3months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Periodontal probing depth	Compare the periodontal probing depth (PD) at six sites per tooth at treated teeth over a 3-month time frame (Baseline to 3 months) between two groups receiving orthodontics therapy alone or in combination with periodontally accelerated osteogenic orthodontics (PAOO).	From baseline to 3months
Periodontal clinical attachment level	Compare the clinical attachment level (CAL) at six sites per tooth at treated teeth over a 3-month time frame (Baseline to 3 months) between two groups receiving orthodontics therapy alone or in combination with periodontally accelerated osteogenic orthodontics (PAOO).	From baseline to 3months
Periodontal width of keratinized tissue	Compare the width of keratinized tissue (KT) at up to two sites per tooth at treated teeth over a 3-month time frame (Baseline to 3 months) between two groups receiving orthodontics therapy alone or in combination with periodontally accelerated osteogenic orthodontics (PAOO).	From baseline to 3months
Periodontal width of attached tissue	Compare the width of attached tissue at up to two sites per tooth at treated teeth over a 3-month time frame (Baseline to 3 months) between two groups receiving orthodontics therapy alone or in combination with periodontally accelerated osteogenic orthodontics (PAOO).	From baseline to 3months
Practitioner-assessed treatment outcomes	Compare the practitioner-assessed esthetic outcomes using the pink esthetic score (PES) (Belser et al., 2009) over a 3-month time frame (Baseline to 3 months) between two groups receiving orthodontics therapy alone or in combination with periodontally accelerated osteogenic orthodontics (PAOO). This score is a grid which assesses mesial and distal papilla fill on a 0-2 scale, curvature of facial gingiva on a 0-2 scale, level of facial gingiva on a 0-2 scale, and root convexity/soft tissue color and contour on a 0-2 scale for an overall maximum assessment of 10 for esthetics. A 10 score would be considered ideal esthetics and a 0 would be considered least desirable. Each individual component of the PES is summed to provide the ultimate PES score.	From baseline to 3months
Patient-assessed esthetic outcomes	Compare the patient-assessed satisfaction with esthetic outcomes over a 3-month time frame (Baseline to 3 months) between two groups receiving orthodontics therapy alone or in combination with periodontally accelerated osteogenic orthodontics (PAOO) using a visual analog scale from 0-100mm to determine the patients' assessment of their esthetic outcome.	From baseline to 3months
Patient centered post-operative discomfort assessment	Compare treatment discomfort over a 3-month time frame (Baseline to 3 months) between two groups receiving orthodontics therapy alone or in combination with periodontally accelerated osteogenic orthodontics (PAOO) using a visual analog scale from 0-100mm to determine the patients' assessment of the post-operative discomfort.	From baseline to 3months
Patient centered global treatment satisfaction	Compare treatment overall treatment satisfaction over a 3-month time frame (Baseline to 3 months) between two groups receiving orthodontics therapy alone or in combination with periodontally accelerated osteogenic orthodontics (PAOO) using a visual analog scale from 0-100mm to determine the patients' assessment of the patient's global assessment of treatment outcomes.	From baseline to 3months
Patient centered alteration of daily activities assessment	Compare assessment of post-treatment change in daily activities over a 3-month time frame (Baseline to 3 months) between two groups receiving orthodontics therapy alone or in combination with periodontally accelerated osteogenic orthodontics (PAOO) using a visual analog scale from 0-100mm to determine the patients' assessment of the post-operative changes to daily activities.	From baseline to 3months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Alabama at Birmingham
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Maria L Geisinger, DDS,MS, University of Alabama at Birmingham

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): October 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 30, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 30, 2028

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: October 9, 2018
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 4, 2019
• First Posted (Actual): January 7, 2019

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): July 8, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 6, 2026
• Last Verified: July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Orthodontic tooth movement; Molar protraction; Periodontally accelerated osteogenic orthodontics; Patient-centered outcomes
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Stomatognathic Diseases; Tooth Diseases; Malocclusion
• Other Study ID Numbers: IRB-300002013; UAB-Perio (Other Identifier: University of Alabama at Birmingham)

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No