An orthodontic treatment usually involves a long process which often represents an obstacle for patients. To overcome this problem, surgical techniques have been developed to support and accelerate the orthodontic treatment. Two systematic reviews of the literature on clinical research and animal experiments were carried out in order to draw reliable conclusions about the effectiveness of the various surgical techniques. A total of 18 clinical studies and 22 animal experimental studies were analysed. In both reviews of the literature, a study was made of whether the surgical techniques resulted in an accelerated rate of tooth movement and which complications may be observed. In addition, which biological mechanisms take place during surgically facilitated orthodontics was investigated. Both reviews reported accelerated tooth movement with minimal complications after surgical procedures in comparison to conventional orthodontics. An increase in catabolic and anabolic activities was observed. It has to be concluded that based on the quality of the current literature there is still insufficient information for general conclusions and that more standardised prospective research is necessary for a reliable conclusion about the optimal method of treatment.