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Efficacy of low-level laser therapy for accelerating tooth movement during orthodontic treatment: a systematic review and meta-analysis

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Abstract

This review aimed to evaluate the efficacy of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) for accelerating tooth movement during orthodontic treatment. An extensive electronic search was conducted by two reviewers. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-RCTs concerning the efficacy of LLLT for accelerating tooth movement during orthodontic treatment were searched in CENTRAL, Medline, PubMed, Embase, China Biology Medicine Disc (CBM), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Google Scholar. Six RCTs and three quasi-RCTs, involving 211 patients from six countries, were selected from 173 relevant studies. All nine articles were feasible for the systematic review and meta-analysis, five of which were assessed as moderate risk of bias, while the rest were assessed as high risk of bias. The mean difference and the 95 % confidence interval (95 % CI) of accumulative moved distance of teeth were observed among all the researches. The results showed that the LLLT could accelerate orthodontic tooth movement (OTM) in 7 days (mean difference 0.19, 95 % CI [0.02, 0.37], p = 0.03) and 2 months (mean difference 1.08, 95 % CI [0.16, 2.01], p = 0.02). Moreover, a relatively lower energy density (5 and 8 J/cm2) was seemingly more effective than 20 and 25 J/cm2 and even higher ones.

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Acknowledgement

This work was supported by the National Nature Science Foundation of China (grant number 81271178).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, Department of Orthodontics, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, 14 Section 3 South Ren Min Road, 610041, Chengdu, China

    M. K. Ge, J. Chen, X. Yin, Z. A. Hu, Z. P. Liu & S. J. Zou

  2. Department of Orthodontics, Guangdong Provincial Stomatological Hospital, the Affiliated Stomatological Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China

    W. L. He

  3. State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, Department of Prosthodontics, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China

    C. Wen

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  1. M. K. Ge
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Correspondence to S. J. Zou.

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Ge, M.K., He, W.L., Chen, J. et al. Efficacy of low-level laser therapy for accelerating tooth movement during orthodontic treatment: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lasers Med Sci 30, 1609–1618 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10103-014-1538-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10103-014-1538-z

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