Photobiomodulation-Induced Orthodontic Tooth Movement

AIM: To investigate the biological impact and rate of photobiomodulation on orthodontic tooth movement during tooth movement in a rat model. METHODS: Nineteen adult male rats were used in five test groups. All animals received orthodontic mesial movement of the left maxillary 1st molar for 21 days. The first test group (TM) was the conventional orthodontic treatment group. The rest of the test groups received phototherapy at two different radiation types (625 and 855nm) for 5 or 15 minutes in addition to TM. For measuring the amount of tooth movement, a two-dimensional radiographic imaging technique was used. To determine the catabolic and anabolic activities, hematoxylin-eosin, TRAP staining and histomorphometry were used. Bone quality and quantity were measured by Micro-CT. RESULTS: Three of the four groups with phototherapy showed a significantly higher tooth movement ranging between 1.46 and 1.88 mm compared to TM (0.51±0.05 mm; p<0.05). Coronal surfaces in photobiomodulation groups showed significantly more bone (p<0.05) compared to TM and equivalent values for the middle and apical levels demonstrating a more bodily movement rather than tilting. Histopathological analyses showed significantly higher values for the amount of bone in all groups (60.7-71.5%) with light application compared to TM (30.7±16.2%). The ratio of the bone volume to the total volume of the measured area (BV/TV) showed no significant difference between all groups and compared to baseline. Significantly higher osteoclast counts were found in all groups (30-46 cells) compared to baseline (5.2±1.2; p<0.05). CONCLUSION: The data suggests that both methods of photobiomodulation have the potential of accelerating orthodontic tooth movement with an increased bone remodeling in the interradicular area. (This study has been supported by Biolux Research Ltd.)