Why can’t doctors just perform jaw surgery to move and align teeth quickly then let it heal, as opposed to people having to get braces or Invisalign?

Question

Edit: Did not expect this to get so many responses. I’m currently several months into Invisalign so have been super fascinated by teeth stuff and was just curious if there was a surgical way to do it, even if it meant way more money, time, and risk. Thank you to everyone who answered!

In: Biology

Answer 1

One thing that many of the comments do not mention is that each tooth root is tightly surrounded by bone (alveolar bone). To quickly move teeth, this alveolar bone would need to be completely reshaped by getting rid of some bone, and adding new bone where the tooth root used to be. By applying slow, steady pressure, the body can partially remodel the alveolar bone itself. It is important to note that after moving the teeth, the alveolar bone does not remodel perfectly, which is why people often need to where retainers to prevent their teeth from moving back to their original position.