The Effect of Local Pharmacological Agents in Acceleration of Orthodontic Tooth Movement: A Systematic Review

AIM: Acceleration of orthodontic tooth movement has gained a massive interest to decrease the total treatment time. Local pharmacological agents might be used for that purpose as a practical, effective and inexpensive alternative. A systematic review was achieved to evaluate the evidence in that topic. METHODS: A search was conducted on electronic databases including PubMed, Lilacs, Web of Science (Thompson Reuters), EMBASE (OvidSP), and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (Wiley) in addition to hand searching of relevant journals till June 2018. Only studies written in English were utilised. Publications were selected, assessed systematically and graded by two observers according to Bondemark grading system. RESULTS: Only two human studies were found investigating the effect of Relaxin and Prostaglandins in the rate of orthodontic tooth movement. No obvious side effects were reported. Relaxin showed no increase in the rate of tooth movement while prostaglandin showed a marked increase in the rate of orthodontic tooth movement. CONCLUSION: There is below moderate evidence showing no effect of relaxin on orthodontic tooth movement, while inconclusive evidence was found regarding Prostaglandin in the acceleration of orthodontic tooth movement. More prospective well-conducted clinical trials are needed to reach a proper conclusion regarding the local pharmacological agents which can be safely used to accelerate orthodontic tooth movement.