Evaluation of efficacy of low-intensity laser therapy on acceleration of orthodontic tooth movement by measuring IL-6 and TNF- α levels in GCF- A randomized clinical controlled trial

Aims and Objectives: There is a profuse tendency for researches to focus on accelerating methods for tooth movement due to the huge demand from adults for a shorter orthodontic treatment time. Photobiomodulation is an emerging area of science that has clinical applications in number of human biological processes. Low-Intensity laser therapy (LILT) has been discussed in many fields of dentistry and hence this study was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy of Low Intensity Diode Laser to accelerate orthodontic tooth movement and correlating the IL6 and TNF α - levels in gingival crevicular fluid. Materials and Methods: Twenty patients aged from 15 to 22 years were randomly selected and among these patients, ten patients were allotted for experimental and ten patients served as controlled groups by flip coin method. Treatment was initiated by bonding fixed appliances in both the arches. The experimental group was treated with LILT using Diode Laser. GCF was collected by intrasulcular technique at different period of intervals and subjected to laboratory assessment. Results: There was statistical significance in the rate of tooth movement in the experimental group (LILT). Increased levels of TNF-α and IL-6 were also observed in GCF samples of experimental group as compared with the control group. Conclusion: Application of low-level laser therapy in adjunctive to orthodontic forces accelerated orthodontic tooth movement along with increased the levels of TNF-α and IL-6 in gingival crevicular fluid