Efficiency of photobiomodulation on accelerating the tooth movement in the alignment phase of orthodontic treatment—A systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the efficiency of photobiomodulation on accelerating the tooth movement in the alignment phase of orthodontic treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The data search was performed with PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and the Cochrane Library. Randomized clinical trials and controlled clinical trials evaluating the efficiency of photobiomodulation on accelerating tooth movement in the alignment phase were selected, and the characteristics of the included studies were collected in a customized data form. Data analysis was conducted by the random-effects model after risk of bias and certainty of evidence were assessed. RESULTS: Five randomized clinical trials and three controlled clinical trials were included in the final analysis. All included studies reported positive results except the study of Shehawy et al. The results of the analysis showed that photobiomodulation significantly increased the rate of tooth movement and reduced the treatment duration, compared with the control group. Although the heterogeneity was large among the included studies, it was improved after subgroup analysis. CONCLUSIONS: This systematic review offered evidence that photobiomodulation can accelerate tooth movement in alignment procedures and reduce treatment time. Future studies are needed to find the best PBM protocol for orthodontic practice.