Photobiomodulation in acceleration of orthodontic tooth movement: A systematic review and meta analysis

Abstract

Background: Photobiomodulation therapy, a non invasive method with no adverse effects, has been used to accelerate tooth movement in orthodontia. However, the specific characteristics of laser settings used in studies documented have reported varied inconsistent conflicting results.

Objectives: We decided to undertake a systematic review to eliminate this inconsistency by quantifying the literature studies that indicated the link between photobiomodulation and acceleration of tooth movement and to assess if there is any association of photobiomodulation therapy in accelerating tooth movement.

Search strategy: We systematically searched for articles of existing literatures on Photobiomodulation therapy and acceleration of tooth movement over Cochrane library, Pubmed central, EMBASE, Scopus and Web of sciences from 2000 to 2017. Mesh search terms using various descriptors were used to identify the studies.

Search criteria: We included randomized control trial and clinical control trail studies that used Ga-Al-As diode laser and Oseeopulse laser with specific characteristics and company specifications, addressing relevant efficiency and safety outcomes.

Data collection and analysis: Eligible studies were reviewed and data was extracted on a standard from. We used Cochrane review manager software (Revman version 5.3) to assess the qualities of each included trials. Data were analyzed using an inverse variance method with random effects model effect.

Results: We observed a statistical significant difference between the photobiomodulation therapy compared to non laser group in the acceleration of tooth movement (Mean difference 0.59 (95%CI- 0.24 to 0.95) I² 95%). However, these results need caution while generalizing in clinical practice due to the large amount of heterogeneity across the studies.

Conclusion: Findings of the current systematic review suggest a possible benefit with photobiomodulation therapy and tooth movement in orthodontia. However these findings need to be further validated in larger trials using specific standardized characteristics of laser settings to uniform the methodological design that can be used in routine clinical practice.

Keywords: Low level laser therapy; Orthodontic tooth movement; Photobiomodulation.