Abstract
Dear Puneet Batra,
Editor-in-Chief,
Journal of Indian Orthodontic Society
This is a letter to the editor related to “Evaluation of tooth surface characteristics after application of intrusive orthodontic forces using scanning electron microscope: an in vivo study” by Gauravdeep Kaur, Maninder Singh Sidhu, Seema Grover, Ashish Dabas, and Namrata Dogra, Journal of Indian Orthodontic Society, Volume 53, Issue 1, January–March 2019.
I carefully read the article, and I would like to commend the writers for their study.
I would like to take this opportunity to address my paradigm related to root resorption as a result of orthodontic force application.
Let me begin with the conclusion that is standing behind my perception of the process: all the data that were collected and described in the article have nothing whatsoever with what the profession sees as root resorption. This is not the resorption we see on periapical radiographs following an orthodontic treatment. This is not the resorption we are scared of. What is beautifully described in the article is the normal biological defense mechanism (DM) the body owns and activates upon abrupt or other changes in the homeostasis in the Periodontal Ligament (PDL) and its surrounding tissues. The body has many different DMs, and the root surface resorption is one of them. We all know that most of this resorption is being remodeled by the apposition of the cementum, in a reverse way to its removal. We for sure know that there is not even one in vivo study that demonstrated apical root shortening (ARS), neither is there an in vivo study that demonstrated direct relations between patients who showed more resorption during the study and ARS. ARS is a different ball game that as far as we know was never studied.
I believe that those ideas will be published soon in the issue of Angle Orthodontist in May 2019, as Editorial Guest section, and I hope that it will change the concept of the profession on the subject. I, as an international member of the peer review board of the Journal of Indian Orthodontic Society, see it very important that this letter be published in it.
Sincerely,
February 16, 2019