Dental Hypotheses (Jan 2012)
Drinking coffee may help accelerate orthodontic tooth movement
Abstract
Introduction: Developing new methods to enhance orthodontic tooth movement and shorten the duration of treatment has always been desired. However, to date, no therapies have been widely used in clinics. Recent studies and feedback information from patients have shown that drinking coffee may accelerate orthodontic tooth movement. The Hypothesis: Drinking coffee, as a daily habit of many people, can be an effective accelerator of tooth movement with little side effect for caffeine can break the calcium balance in bone tissue and directly inhibit the development of osteoblasts, leading to temporary decreased bone mineral density and consequently inducing faster orthodontic tooth movement. Evaluation of the Hypothesis: Much effort has been made to explore therapies to shorten orthodontic treatment period with limited success. Daily coffee consumption may be a promising approach to enhance orthodontic tooth movement for its reversible effect on bone mineral density and calcium balance.
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