Wilckodontics^®

Wilckodontics^® is a new orthodontic procedure, which allows orthodontic cases to be completed in 7 – 8 months. This is three to four times faster than conventional orthodontics. Social obligations or time commitments should no longer be an overwhelming obstacle to orthodontic treatment. With the Wilckodontics system, less time in treatment translates to less disruption in your personal and work schedule.

With the new procedure, patients who would have declined conventional orthodontics strictly due to the length of treatment now have a viable alternative. This group of patients has tended to include adolescents who do not want to wear braces for 1 1/2 to 3 years while in high school and adults whose social or professional responsibilities would preclude their wearing braces for a long period of time. The Accelerated Osteogenic Orthodontics™ procedure is feasible for most patients, regardless of age, as long as their permanent teeth are present.

The trend in orthodontics over the past several decades has been to improve the treatment for patients through advances in metallurgy and chemistry. This can be seen in the evolution of archwires, bands, brackets, cements, and bonding materials. These advances have improved the manner and efficiency with which the orthodontic forces are transferred to the crowns of the teeth. But in spite of all these advances most conventional fixed orthodontic treatments still require 1½ to 3 years to complete.

The procedure has solved this dilemma by exploiting the dynamic of bone physiology and redirecting the emphasis in tooth movement to the manner in which the supporting bone responds to orthodontic forces rather than just concentrating on the manner in which the forces are applied to the teeth. By stimulating and harnessing the innate potentials of living bone the teeth can be made to move through the bone very rapidly and when the tooth movement is completed the bone around the roots of the teeth will rebuild itself. In May of 1998 this procedure was introduced at the 98th Annual Session of the American Association of Orthodontics through a table clinic, doctor’s roundtable discussion, and a scientific poster board presentation.

Treatment Time: 7 months and 1 week

This 11-year-old female presented with a Class II moderately crowded malocclusion with 8-10 mm of excess overjet. The parents chose the Accelerated Osteogenic Orthodontics™ procedure in preference to conventional braces/extractions/retraction or conventional braces/orthognathic surgery. The upper first bicuspids were removed prior to beginning the Accelerated Osteogenic Orthodontics™ procedure.

The treatment was completed in 7 months and 1 week from bracketing to debracketing. There were 15 adjustment appointments and no broken brackets.

Evaluation of before and after treatment radiographs indicates minimal root resorption and good root angulation.