Intraoral photobiomodulation-induced orthodontic tooth alignment: a preliminary study

Area of Science:

• Orthodontics
• Biotechnology
• Dental Medicine

Background:

• Orthodontic treatment aims to reduce treatment duration.
• Photobiomodulation (PBM) has shown potential in accelerating orthodontic tooth movement.
• This study investigated intraoral PBM's efficacy in resolving anterior dental crowding.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate if intraoral PBM enhances the rate of tooth alignment.
• To determine if intraoral PBM reduces the time needed for anterior dental crowding resolution.
• To assess the impact of PBM on orthodontic treatment duration.

Main Methods:

• Nineteen subjects with Class I/II malocclusion and significant crowding (LII ≥ 3 mm) were studied.
• The test group (N=11) used an intraoral PBM device daily; the control group (N=8) did not.
• Little's Irregularity Index (LII) tracked alignment progress from T0 to T1 (LII ≤ 1 mm).

Main Results:

• The PBM group exhibited a significantly higher alignment rate (1.27 mm/week) compared to the control group (0.44 mm/week).
• Treatment time to alignment was substantially reduced in the PBM group (48 days) versus the control group (104 days).
• Intraoral PBM accelerated tooth movement 2.9-fold, decreasing alignment duration by 54% with 93% compliance.

Conclusions:

• Intraoral PBM shows potential for decreasing anterior alignment time, possibly reducing overall orthodontic treatment duration.
• Further large-scale, randomized trials are necessary to validate these findings due to study limitations.