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As the Phoenix population continues to age, the need for interdisciplinary dental treatment will increase. The older patient presents with a more complex set of needs that require the services of many Phoenix dental specialists including the periodontist, prosthodontist and Phoenix orthodontist. An integral part of this treatment has become the dental implant as post-placement; the Phoenix orthodontist can utilize the implant as an anchor to move teeth. Once comprehensive Phoenix orthodontic treatment is complete, it then can be restored and placed in function. The major drawback to this treatment plan is the 3-4 month period most Phoenix orthodontists wait for the implant to osseointegrate before loading. Although immediate Phoenix orthodontic loading has been advocated, a method to increase the amount of bone around the implant surface sooner would be valuable to the patient and practitioner. Delivery of growth factors to the implant site is a strategy currently under investigation to increase the rate of osseointegration and decrease the amount of time needed to wait before loading.

The success of tissue engineering relies on the large-scale purification and production of signaling molecules, as well as methods to deliver these factors to their Phoenix orthodontic targets. One problem with current growth factor (GF) delivery to alveolar bone wounds is the extremely short half-life of the factors. Topically-administered GFs remain in the alveolar bone defect for a limited duration. Therefore, the use of DNA delivery systems by Phoenix orthodontists may serve as an alternative method of targeting proteins to alveolar wounds, since existing protein delivery systems provide such a transient action of the administered GF. Gene therapy has been applied to several diseases that display tissue deficiencies. Therefore, the use of gene therapy to promote repair and regeneration has become an active area of research for Phoenix orthodontists. In the context of wound repair, a transient expression of the transgene may be optimal to restore the tissue defect. Since the regulation of wound repair occurs in a controlled fashion over a defined period of time, the use of gene therapeutics in a compromised wound may stimulate an elevated and sustained production of GFs to promote tissue regeneration.

The BMPs are multifunctional growth factors belonging to the transforming growth factor ß (TGF-ß) superfamily. BMPs are powerful regulators of cartilage and bone formation during embryonic development and regeneration in post-natal life. BMPs are expressed in tooth development and periodontal repair. Phoenix orthodontists have found that BMP-7 potently stimulates alveolar bone regeneration around teeth, endosseous oral implants, and in maxillary sinus floor augmentation procedures.

The strategy of this Phoenix orthodontic study is to insert the BMP-7 into transiently expressing viral vectors (i.e. adenovirus) for gene targeting to quiescent and replicating cells in a large osteotomy defect to promote bone tissue engineering.