Effectiveness of a Customized intraoral photo-biomodulator for accelerating orthodontic tooth movement

One of the common deterrents to orthodontic treatment is the length of time for active phase. In literature, authors have reported about 20-30 months to complete the orthodontic treatment. Although there are many methods to increase the rate of tooth movement, they are associated with discomfort, pain and invasiveness. Hence, there is a need for a non- invasive, cost effective and user friendly method of reducing the treatment time. Photobiomodulation (PBM), also known as low-level light therapy (LLLT), attempts to use low energy lasers or light-emitting diodes (LED) to modify cellular biology by exposure to light in the red to near-infrared (NIR) range (600–1000 nm). NIR light therapy has been linked to increase mitochondrial metabolism, wound healing and the promotion of angiogenesis in skin, bone, muscle, and nervous tissues. In this study, a customized intraoral photo-biomodulator made of acrylic and near-infrared LED lights incorporated into it will be used. The patients will be subjected to experiment based on randomly assigned split mouth design to prevent individual biologic variation. Pre-adjusted edgewise MBT prescription bracket system will be used with 0.022 slot and anchorage reinforcement by auxiliaries like Transpalatal arch and lingual arch or 2nd molar banding will be decided. After levelling and aligning, during the retraction phase photobiomodulation will be used. Patients are advised to use this photobio-modulator everyday for 3mins in the morning after brushing and before breakfast for an interval of 4 months.