Different surgical and non-surgical approaches have been proposed to accelerate tooth movement and decrease the duration of orthodontic treatments. Recently, less invasive techniques such as micro-osteoperforation (MOP) are becoming more common. Several clinical trials have been performed to analyse the effect of MOP. This systematic review with meta-analyses was done to evaluate the effect of MOP on the rate of orthodontic tooth movement (OTM) and its complications.

Electronic search was done in PubMed and Cochrane database for studies published until January 2021. Comparative randomized clinical trial studies with 10 or more participants per group were included. The risk of bias (ROB) of the studies was assessed according to the Cochrane Collaborations tool. Meta-analyses were performed to assess the mean difference in tooth movement rate and compare the level of pain between MOP and control groups.

Among a total of 15 included studies, eight studies were at low ROB, while others had unclear ROB. Ten studies evaluated the effect of MOP on OTM rate in canine retraction, and related meta-analysis showed a significant difference between the MOP and control group [SMD=0.42; 95% CI=0.20 to 0.63, P<0.01]. Besides, quantitative analysis showed MOP caused no significant higher anchorage loss [SMD=0.01; 95% CI=−0.15 to 0.13, P=0.89] and pain [SMD=0.54; 95% CI=−0.25 to 1.33, P=0.18].

Overall, both single and multiple applications of MOP increased the rate of OTM. However, the meta-analysis results of the four studies with low risk of bias showed that there is no significant difference in the rate of tooth movement between MOP and control groups. Besides, it has been shown that MOP did not significantly increase the level of pain, anchorage loss, and periodontal complications.