Effect of Pamidronate on tooth movement and root resorption in rat

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of administration of bisphosphonate an anti-osteoclastic agent i.e. Pamidronate, on the orthodontic tooth movement and root resorption in rats. The present experimental study was conducted on 30 male 8 weeks old Wistar rat. On day zero the orthodontic appliance was installed. Control group received normal saline and for experimental groups, Pamidronate 1mg/kg, was injected intraperitoneally. After 21 days, rats of control group and experimental were sacrificed and the upper jaws were dissected and the distance between upper 1st and 2nd molars were measured. Under light microscope root resorptive lacunae were calculated by computer software. Student t-test was used for purpose of comparison between groups. There were significant differences between the control (0.562±0.168 mm) and the experimental group (0.346±0.197 mm) for orthodontic tooth movements (p<0.01 by paired t-test). Looking to root resorption no significant differences were observed between the control (0.25±0.175×10-2 square millimeter) and the experimental group (0.26 ± 0.125×10-2 square millimeter). According to the present study, Pamidronate can reduce tooth movement and at the same time no increase of the root resorption is observed.