Effect of photobiomodulation on external root resorption during orthodontic tooth movement - a randomized controlled trial

Objective > The objective of the study was to compare external root resorption during orthodontic tooth movement between patients who were subjected to photobiomodulation and those who were not. Materials and methods > The study was designed as a split-mouth, single-blind randomized controlled trial conducted on twenty-two orthodontic patients requiring extraction of maxillary first premolars (age group 13-30 years). A buccal force was applied to all the premolars using a 0.019 x 0.025 beta-titanium cantilever spring for 28 days. The test group premolars were irradiated by indium-gallium-arsenide (InGaAs) diode laser (980 nm, 100 mW) 0, 3, 7, 11, 15 and 28 days after force application. Each premolar was irradiated at ten locations on the buccal and palatal gingiva resulting in a total energy of 10 J delivered per tooth. After 28 days, the root surface of all the premolars were studied for the number and volume of resorption craters using three-dimensional optical profilometry by a blinded assessor. One-sample KolmogorovSmirnov test was used to ascertain normality and Mann-Whitney U test was applied for data analysis. Results > All twenty-two patients enrolled completed the study. The root surface analysis showed formation of 32.78% less number of resorption craters (P < 0.05) and 39.49% less volume of resorption craters (P < 0.05) in the test group premolars relative to the control group premolars. Conclusions > The results of the present study, therefore, suggest that photobiomodulation reduces external root resorption during orthodontic tooth movement.

Automated summary

The study aimed to compare external root resorption during orthodontic tooth movement between patients receiving photobiomodulation and those who were not. Results showed a significant reduction in the number and volume of resorption craters in premolars treated with photobiomodulation compared to the control group.