Impact of obesity on orthodontic tooth movement in adolescents

The study was recently published in the Journal of Dental Research and demonstrated increased levels of inflammatory biomarkers within the gingival tissues of obese patients prior to orthodontic treatment and a different response in this cohort during early tooth alignment with fixed braces when compared to normal weight patients.

In this prospective clinical cohort study, 55 adolescent patients (27 males and 28 females) with an average age of 15 years were followed from start of treatment to completion of tooth alignment with fixed braces. The participants were classified as normal weight or obese based upon their Body Mass Index (BMI).

Over the period of treatment, obese patients had a significantly increased rate of initial tooth movement and required less time to achieve tooth alignment when compared to normal weight patients. What is interesting is that a pro-inflammatory state was observed within the gingival tissues of obese patients prior to treatment, which was associated with more rapid initial tooth movement in this group. These findings demonstrate that obesity can significantly affect the oral tissues.