Effect of Low-level Laser Therapy on Orthodontic Movement of Human Canine: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials

BACKGROUND: Low-level Laser Therapy (LLLT) is a noninvasive method of accelerating tooth movement. Herein, this meta-analysis was aimed to assess the efficacy of LLLT in accelerating orthodontic tooth movement of human maxilla or mandible canine. METHODS: Five databases including Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Cochrane Library were used for searching the studies. Studies on LLLT for orthodontic tooth movement of human canine, randomized clinical trial (RCT), and outcome variables such as distance or speed of the tooth movement in treatment duration were considered for the final analysis. RevMan 5.3 was used for calculating the mean difference (MD) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) on random-effects model. RESULTS: Out of 275 studies retrieved from five databases, six RCTs were included and analyzed in this meta-analysis. The results showed that the orthodontic movement of canine was statistically increased in the LLLT group compared with the control group in 21 days (MD: 0.74; 95%CI: 0.17, 1.31; P = 0.01), one month (MD: 0.40; 95%CI: 0.10, 0.69; P = 0.008), 1.5 months (MD: 0.72; 95%CI: 0.51, 0.93; P < 00001), two months (MD: 0.84; 95%CI: 0.23, 1.44; P = 0.006) three months (MD: 0.92; 95%CI: 0.06, 1.78; P = 0.04), and 4.5 months (MD: 1.53; 95%CI: 0.92, 2.14; P < 0.00001). CONCLUSION: The LLLT can speed up the rate of tooth movement of human canine and consequently decrease the treatment time. LLLT represents a proper adjuvant therapy for fixed orthodontic treatment.