American Board of Orthodontics (ABO) Practice Exam

Orthodontic treatment is designed to reposition teeth and facilitate skeletal changes through controlled mechanical forces, which indeed affect the surrounding supportive tissues, including connective tissue. The assertion that orthodontic treatment causes connective tissue loss in non-diseased tissue is rooted in the understanding of how tooth movement occurs.

When a force is applied to a tooth, it creates an area of compression on one side of the periodontal ligament and an area of tension on the opposite side. This dynamic process leads to the remodeling of the alveolar bone and periodontal ligaments, effectively reshaping the connective tissue as the tooth moves.

Research has shown that while there is some biological response related to tissue remodeling during orthodontic treatment, it does not equate to pathological loss of connective tissue in healthy individuals. Instead, the process is typically one of maintenance and adaptation rather than loss. However, if one interprets "loss" in a broader sense, where tissue is remodeled and restructured, the context of the question could lead one to consider the orthodontic-induced changes as a form of loss.

It is important to note, however, that significant connective tissue loss, particularly detrimental, is more commonly associated with periodontal disease rather than standard orthodontic treatment on non-diseased tissue. The