Clinical efficacy of photobiomodulation therapy in dental implant stability and crestal bone loss in implants placed in healed sites: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials

This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to compare the effect of photobiomodulation (PBM) therapy on implant stability and crestal bone loss placed in healed sites. The present systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted according to PRISMA (The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines. Two investigators carried out the electronic search of Pubmed, Google Scholar, and Ebscohost for published literature from 2012 till March 2024. Handsearch for articles relevant to the topic was also carried out along with references. Only randomized controlled trials were included for systematic review. The assessment quality was done using the revised JBI checklist (Joanna Biggs Institute). After screening and eligibility assessment, Qualitative analysis was envisaged for 15 studies on implant stability and crestal bone loss, followed by quantitative analysis of 8 studies on implant stability and only 2 studies for crestal bone loss. Meta-analysis showed that overall implant stability was significantly higher in the control group (P < 0.00001). Crestal bone loss showed a significant difference after the therapy when observed after six months of implant placement (P = 0.03). Heterogeneity was high with the random effects model for implant stability, while it was acceptable for crestal bone loss. However, more studies with similar parameters concerning implant stability and PBM characteristics are required for further subgroup analysis and to reach conclusive results.