Effects of vibrational devices on orthodontic tooth movement: A systematic review

The aim of this systematic review was to investigate the ability of vibrational devices to increase the rate of orthodontic tooth movement or reduce pain associated with orthodontic treatment.

An electronic search for relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was conducted using Medline via OVID (January 1, 1966, through March 30, 2018), and EMBASE, PubMed, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials until August 2017. Hand searching of selected orthodontic journals was also undertaken.

Through the electronic searches, 152 titles and abstracts were identified. From these, 10 articles were retrieved for review, and 4 of these met the inclusion criteria. Two additional articles were identified by hand searching. This resulted in 6 studies from 5 separate randomized controlled trials that were included in this systematic review. One RCT reported increased tooth movement with vibrational devices, but the other 4 RCTs reported no difference. Three studies investigated the effect of vibrational devices on pain reduction and found no effect.

The ability of vibrational forces to increase the rate of tooth movement and reduce pain in orthodontic patients has been studied in several RCTs. The results from all but 1 of the included studies indicate no advantage from the use of vibrational devices during orthodontic treatment. Future studies should focus on total treatment duration, the mechanism by which vibration may speed up tooth movement, and the use of vibration with aligners.

No funding was received for this review.