Development of a vibrator used for accelerating orthodontic treatment

Studies have shown that applying a vibration of certain frequencies and intensities on the tooth can accelerate tooth movement, thus shorten orthodontic treatment duration. The optimal frequency may be related to the natural frequency of the tooth-periodontal ligament(PDL)-bone complex (TPBC), therefore we designed a vibrating device which can measure the natural frequency of the TPBC, and produce vibration load with customized frequencies and intensities. This device consists of four parts, vibration source, vibration frequency modulator, vibration amplitude modulator, natural frequency measurement module. To optimize the vibrator's design, specifically structure and natural frequency, static analysis and modal analysis were both made. The application method of the vibrator is also introduced. The designed vibrator can customize vibration load and obtain the natural frequency of TPBC, and it will be used for experiments to obtain the relation between the optimal frequency and the natural frequency of TPBC.