Efficiency of photobiomodulation in speeding up the tooth movement: A meta-analysis and systematic review

Abstract

Introduction- Ortthodontic treatment is an effective way to cure aesthetic problems of teeth. With recent advanced, photobiomodulation (PBM) has become an important add-on in the orthodontic treatment. Current review aimed to evaluate the efficacy of PBM systematically on accelerating the alignment rate for further application in orthodontic treatment.

Material and Method- Articles were searched on Cochrane Library, ScienceDirect, PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science etc. Based on the guidelines of Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions and PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) we included 6 articles in the current review. Abstract, case-reports, animal studies, studies including <10 subjects and studies without vital data were excluded. Data was collected and analysed using Review Manager 5.3. P-value<0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.

Result- After applying exclusion criteria, we were left with 6 articles from different geographical areas in our review. PRISMA guidelines were used for articles selection. Two of the articles showed a high risk of bias and four articles showed low risk. This systematic review observed that PBM significantly increased the orthodontic tooth movement (OTM) and with due course of time the rate of OTM further increased. PBM showed no difference in OTM in the 1^st month but in the 2^nd and 3^rd months, a significant difference was seen. Variability/Heterogeneity among articles was significant.

Conclusion- PBM can increase the rate of OTM especially in the 2^nd and 3^rd month due to the accumulative effect of radiation. Therefore, PBM can be an important adjunct to the orthodontic treatment.