A revolutionary new gum shield that contains a vibrating balloon could align crooked teeth in as little as three months. The device, called the Aerodentis, is connected to a small machine that pumps air in and out of a silicon balloon that rests against the patients teeth; the vibrations from the balloon gradually move crooked teeth until they are lined up with the plastic gum shield. The Aerodentis should be worn for eight to ten hours at a time, usually at night.
According to the Daily Mail, the maker of this new appliance claim that crooked teeth could be realigned in just three months, compared to the months or years it can take conventional braces. The vibrations from the balloon inflating are too gentle to wake the patient up but should be enough to stimulate tooth movement while they sleep. It is thought that the pulsing pressure should encourage tooth alignment much faster than the constant force put onto the teeth by traditional appliances.
A study at the University of California, San Francisco, revealed that teeth with a normal brace moved on average about 0.6mm over twelve days, compared to 0.9mm with the gentle vibrations of the Aerodentis. Martyn Cobourne, professor of orthodontics at the King’s Dental Institute in London, said that the theory of small vibrations against the teeth was also being used in the departments own design, called the Acceledent; although this is to be used alongside traditional devices, rather than instead of them. He said ‘We don’t have any data yet but there is very little high-quality evidence to suggest that vibrational force moves teeth any faster than conventional force.’
The Aerodentis is already approved for use in Europe and could come to the UK within a year.