SynthesisPain research & management2017
Effectiveness of Low-Level Laser Therapy in Reducing Orthodontic Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Synthesis in Pain research & management, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 36 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
36 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Umbrella review of photobiomodulation/low-level laser therapy and vitamin D in orthodontics: effects on tooth movement, pain, root resorption, and bone biomarkers.BMC oral health · 2026Pooled it
- Effect of the photobiomodulation for acceleration of the orthodontic tooth movement: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Lasers in medical science · 2022Pooled it
- Photobiomodulation impacts the levels of inflammatory mediators during orthodontic tooth movement? A systematic review with meta-analysis.Lasers in medical science · 2022Pooled it
- Effect of photobiomodulation therapy on mini-implant stability: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Lasers in medical science · 2021Pooled it
- Effects of low-level laser therapy on the orthodontic mini-implants stability: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Progress in orthodontics · 2021Pooled it
- Effect of single-dose diode laser photobiomodulation on orthodontic pain following initial archwire placement: a randomized clinical trial.BMC oral health · 2025Trial
- Low-level laser therapy effectiveness in reducing initial orthodontic archwire placement pain in premolars extraction cases: a single-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial.BMC oral health · 2020Trial
- Photobiomodulation and Pain Reduction in Patients Requiring Orthodontic Band Application: Randomized Clinical Trial.BioMed research international · 2020Trial
- Patient-reported outcomes measures (PROMs) following a piezocision-assisted versus conventional orthodontic treatments: a randomized controlled trial in adults.Clinical oral investigations · 2019Trial
- Low-level laser therapy (830 nm) on orthodontic pain: blinded randomized clinical trial.Lasers in medical science · 2019Trial
- Evaluating the effect of photobiomodulation with a 940-nm diode laser on post-operative pain in periodontal flap surgery.Lasers in medical science · 2018Trial
- Photobiomodulation in orthodontics: an overview of systematic reviews with meta-regression and evidence map.Odontology · 2026Review
- Cellular and Molecular Neuro-Bone Cell Interactions Drive Alveolar Bone Remodeling During Orthodontic Mechanical Loading.International journal of biological sciences · 2026Review
- Efficacy of low-level laser therapy in pain relief during orthodontic treatment: Protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2026Article
- Photobiomodulation Meets Mechanotransduction: Immune-Stromal Crosstalk in Orthodontic Remodeling.Biomedicines · 2025Review
- Assessment of the onset of analgesia and length of analgesia following the use of PBM with different wavelengths: a clinical study.Lasers in medical science · 2024Article
- Three-dimensional assessment of low-level laser therapy on orthodontic miniscrew displacement using CBCT: a retrospective study.BMC oral health · 2024Article
- Efficacy of Laser Therapy in Trigeminal Neuralgia: a Systematic Review.Journal of dentistry (Shiraz, Iran) · 2024Review
- Effect of low-level laser therapy on pain reduction in orthodontic patients during molar distalization: A randomized controlled trial.The Saudi dental journal · 2024Article
- Whole-Body Photobiomodulation Therapy for Fibromyalgia: A Feasibility Trial.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTo assess the effectiveness of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) in reducing orthodontic pain after the application of orthodontic force (OF).
methodsA systematic search was conducted in the MEDLINE, EMBASE, Scopus, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and EBSCOhost databases. The study included randomized clinical trials (RCT) which analysed the effectiveness of LLLT in reducing orthodontic pain assessed at 24 and 72 hrs after the application of OF. The risk of bias of the eligible trials was assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration's risk of bias tool. Standard mean difference was calculated and pooled by meta-analysis using random effect models.
resultsOf 467 identified articles, 20 RCT were finally included. In the risk of bias assessments, 13 studies presented a high risk, 5 an unclear risk, and 2 a low risk. The meta-analysis showed that in patients treated with laser versus placebo there was a difference in favour of LLLT in spontaneous pain 24 and 72 hrs after the installation of light archwires and spontaneous pain and chewing pain 24 and 72 hrs after the installation of elastomeric separators.
conclusionsLLLT proved to be effective in promoting a reduction in spontaneous and chewing pain after the application of OF; however, the poor quality of the evidence requires these results to be treated with caution.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.