Harry Sicher Research Award: Injectable RANKL Sustained Release Formulations to Accelerate Orthodontic Tooth Movement

Accelerating tooth movement through biologically effective methods, such as increasing osteoclast-mediated alveolar resorption, is a topic of interest for orthodontics. This presentation will explore the delivery of RANKL through PLGA microspheres embedded in a carrier gel for accelerating tooth movement, and will answer the questions: What is the release profile of RANKL from the microsphere in gel formulation? Does the RANKL formulation increase osteoclast formation? How does sustained release of RANKL affect orthodontic tooth movement, bone volume fraction, and osteoclastic activity?

Learning Objectives:

• Describe sustained local delivery of RANKL through a microsphere in gel formulation with a linear release profile.
• Demonstrate the ability of the RANKL formulation to accelerate orthodontic tooth movement in vivo by decreasing bone volume fraction and increasing osteoclastic activity.
• Propose the potential for our RANKL formulation as a novel therapeutic to effectively and biologically accelerate tooth movement.