Effects of aging on RANKL and OPG levels in gingival crevicular fluid during orthodontic tooth movement

OBJECTIVES: To compare the levels of the receptor activator of NFkB ligand (RANKL) and osteoprotegerin (OPG) in the gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) during orthodontic tooth movement in juvenile and adult patients. DESIGN: Fifteen juveniles and 15 adults served as subjects. GCF was collected from the distal cervical margins of the experimental and control teeth at 0, 1, 24, and 168 h after application of a retracting force. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits were used to determine RANKL and OPG levels in the GCF samples. RESULTS: The amount of tooth movement for juveniles was larger than for adults after 168 h. Further, after 24 h RANKL levels were increased and those of OPG decreased in GCF samples from the compression side during orthodontic tooth movement in both juveniles and adults. The RANKL/OPG ratio in GCF from adult patients was lower than that in the juvenile patient samples. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that the age-related decrease in amount of tooth movement may be related to a decrease in RANKL/OPG ratio in GCF during the early stages of orthodontic tooth movement.