Stability and Retention.

Stability of tooth position in the broader sense considers all the forces that may act on the tooth. Reitan reported that significant forces remained in the periodontium after tooth movement, and he carried out research that demonstrated residual stretching of the crestal periodontal fibers more than 7 months after tooth movement. Brain demonstrated that severing the fibers reduced the relapse in tooth position in dogs. Edwards published a series of papers exploring the effects of surgical transection of the gingival fibers on tooth stability, recommending that circumferential fiberotomy be performed in order to increase posttreatment tooth stability. Other researchers have suggested ways to increase the stability of the incisors, which are typically most prone to relapse. Peck and Peck recommended that interproximal reduction be done to broaden the contact point. Boese also recommended interproximal reduction as part of a four-pronged approach to retention.