ABSTRACT

Distraction osteogenesis is a process of growing new bone by mechanical stretching of the preexisting bone tissue. The most common technique in distraction osteogenesis is mechanical stretching of the reparative bone tissue by a distraction device through an osteotomy or corticotomy site. With this technique, new bone is generated in the gap of osteotomy or corticotomy at the approximate rate of 1 mm per day. Distraction osteogenesis is a procedure that was used as early as 1905 by Codivilla in Bologna, Italy and later popularized by the clinical and research studies of Ilizarov in Russia. In 1992, distraction osteogenesis was first applied to the human mandible by McCarthy et al. and since then it has been applied to all the bones of the craniofacial skeleton, including the mid-face and maxilla. Some researchers have now applied this concept to orthodontic tooth movement.