Tisssue responses in corticotomy- and osteotomy-assisted tooth movements in rats: Histology and immunostaining

Introduction The purpose of this histologic study was to examine underlying cellular responses to corticotomy- and osteotomy-assisted tooth movements. Methods Thirty-six rats were divided into 5 groups: corticotomy-assisted tooth movement (CO + TM), sham corticotomy without tooth movement (CO alone), osteotomy-assisted tooth movement (OS + TM), sham osteotomy without tooth movement (OS alone), and unassisted tooth movement (TM alone). Standard orthodontic springs were activated to produce mesial tooth movement. The rats were killed at 3, 21, and 60 days after activation for osteoclast and blood vessel counts, and immunostaining with proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF beta 1), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and osteocalcin were performed. Results The CO + TM group had significantly more osteoclasts at 3 days ( P