Efficacy of laser photobiomodulation in accelerating orthodontic tooth movement in children: A systematic review with meta-analysis

Abstract

​ Aim and background:This systematic review aimed to investigate the efficacy of laser photobiomodulation (PBM) on the acceleration of orthodontic tooth movement (OTM). Review methods: The study protocol was registered at PROSPERO (CRD42019121465). An extensive electronic search for randomized control trials and clinical control trials via Medline (via PubMed), The Cochrane Controlled Clinical Trials Register, and Scopus up to date 24/02/2019 was done. Hand searching was performed for relevant journals. Reference articles were retrieved and exported to Mendeley Desktop 1.13.3 software. The risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane risk of the bias assessment tool. Articles were further analyzed using Revman5.3 software. Results: A total of 14 articles were considered for systematic review and 9 articles were considered for meta-analysis. The results of the meta-analysis showed a significant difference between the laser group and conventional orthodontic treatment with Forest plots showing more tooth movement in the laser group compared to the control group in 2–3 months (mean difference = 1.73; CI: 0.9–2.57; p = 0.00001; I2 = 89 %). Conclusion: Although the analysis of the results shows that laser PBM favors OTM, the results are inconclusive as the heterogeneity across studies was high. Clinical significance: Laser PBM may be considered as novel, safe, and noninvasive adjuvant therapy for the acceleration of OTM in children.