Editorial Type:
Article Category: Research Article
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Online Publication Date: 07 May 2025

Influence of personalized replacement protocol and low-level laser therapy combined with vibration on tooth movement rate and tooth movement accuracy in clear aligner treatment: a randomized clinical trial

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DOI: 10.2319/100424-813.1
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ABSTRACT

Objectives

To evaluate the influence of personalized aligner replacement, with or without physical methods of acceleration using low-frequency vibration combined with a low-level laser, on the tooth movement rate and accuracy of clear aligners.

Materials and Methods

Forty participants were randomly allocated to three groups. Fourteen participants used the standard replacement protocol in Group A, Group B included 14 participants using a personalized replacement protocol, and 12 participants in Group C followed the personalized replacement protocol and used a physical device that combined low-frequency vibration and low-level laser. Aligner replacement cycles of the first 12 steps were recorded, and GOM inspect suite software 2022 (GOM; Braunschweig, Germany) was used to evaluate maxillary molar movement accuracy using digital models collected before treatment and at the end of the 12th step.

Results

No significant difference was found in the accuracy of maxillary molar movement between Groups A and B, but the tooth movement rate in Group B was significantly greater. The accuracy of maxillary molar movement was similar in Groups B and C, and the tooth movement rate in Group C was significantly increased.

Conclusions

The personalized replacement protocol decreased the number of aligner replacement cycles without impacting the accuracy of tooth movement. With personalized replacement, a physical method of acceleration combining low-level laser and low-frequency vibration significantly accelerated orthodontic tooth movement and had little influence on the accuracy of tooth movement.

Copyright: © 2025 by The EH Angle Education and Research Foundation, Inc.

Contributor Notes

 Researcher, Key Laboratory of Shaanxi Province for Craniofacial Precision Medicine Research, College of Stomatology, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China.
 Professor, School of Stomatology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China.
 Professor, Key Laboratory of Shaanxi Province for Craniofacial Precision Medicine Research, College of Stomatology, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China.
Corresponding author: Dr Shuang Wang, Key Laboratory of Shaanxi Province for Craniofacial Precision Medicine Research, College of Stomatology, Xi’an Jiaotong University, 98 Xiwu road, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China (e-mail: wshuang@mail.xjtu.edu.cn)
Received: 04 Oct 2024
Accepted: 06 Apr 2025
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