An evaluation of tooth root resorption associated with the use of photobiomodulation during orthodontic treatment with clear aligners

• Author / Creator

  Rossi, Antonio

• INTRODUCTION:
  Photobiomodulation therapy has been reported to accelerate orthodontic tooth movement, which may also be contributing to an increase in orthodontically induced external root resorption (OIERR). The aim of this project is to evaluate the change in tooth root volume using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) in a group of orthodontic patients treated with clear aligners with or without the use of photobiomodulation as produced by the OrthoPulse device.
  METHODS:
  A semi-automated segmentation technique was used to obtain the tooth volume of maxillary and mandibular anterior teeth from CBCT imaging taken prior to the start of active aligner therapy (T0) and at the end of treatment or at least six months following the initiation of active aligner therapy (T1). The OrthoPulse group (n = 16) changed their clear aligners every 3-5 days and were instructed to use their OrthoPulse device once per day for 5 minutes per dental arch (10 minutes total). The clear aligner group (n = 16) served as a matched control and were instructed to change their aligners every 7-10 days. The individual’s pre- and post-treatment teeth volumes were superimposed, and the crowns were virtually removed at the level of the cemento-enamel junction. The change in root volume between the two time points was then assessed.
  RESULTS:
  There was no statistically significant difference between the pre-treatment and post-treatment root volumes of maxillary and mandibular central incisors, lateral incisors and canines, regardless of which intervention group the patient belonged to (p = 0.840). There was also no statistically significant difference in the mean percentage change in root volume between clear aligner patients in this study who have been treated with photobiomodulation using the OrthoPulse device compared to a matched control group (p = 0.310).
  CONCLUSIONS:
  Clear aligner patients in this study who changed their aligners every 3-5 days and used adjunctive photobiomodulation therapy did not experience clinically relevant OIERR. Due to the small sample size and the measurement error in the root segmentations, the presented results should be interpreted with caution.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • tooth root resorption
  • orthodontics
  • clear aligners
  • cone-beam computed tomography
  • photobiomodulation

• Graduation date

  Fall 2020

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Science

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/r3-b7yw-ag91

• License

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