Efficacy of herbal- versus chlorhexidine-based mouthwashes towards oral hygiene maintenance in patients undergoing fixed orthodontic therapy: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The review aims to fill the gap in literature by comparing the efficacy of herbal and chlorhexidine-based mouthwashes towards oral hygiene maintenance (OHM) in patients undergoing fixed orthodontic treatment (OT). METHODS: Indexed databases were searched electronically to include randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for data gathering. The protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42020182497). Risk of bias assessment, quality of evidence investigation and meta-analysis were performed to evaluate reported OHM-related parameters at time points before and after the use of chlorhexidine (control group) and herbal mouthwashes (intervention group). With 95% confidence intervals, mean difference (MD) or standardized mean difference (SMD) was used to estimate effect size. RESULTS: Out of eight RCTs, results from one RCT favoured chlorhexidine and the results from a second RCT favoured herbal mouthwashes. Results from three RCTs showed comparable effects for the respective investigated OHM-related parameters. Chlorhexidine demonstrated higher antimicrobial efficacy against Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) in two studies, and one RCT found comparable antimicrobial efficacies. Risk of bias was low in two studies, and moderate and high in two studies each. Quality of evidence was very low to moderate for the respective investigated parameters. Sub-group analysis for parameters colony forming units (CFU) {SMD (0.40) [95% CI (-0.22, 1.03)], gingival index (GI) {MD (0.06) [95% CI (-0.08, 0.20)]}, plaque index (PI) {SMD 0.22 [95% CI (-0.23, 0.67)]} before the use of chlorhexidine and herbal mouthwashes remained inconclusive. CONCLUSION: The comparison between efficacy of herbal and chlorhexidine towards OHM in patients undergoing fixed OT remains debatable.

Effect of Lithium on Orthodontic Tooth Movement: a Systematic Review of Animal Studies.

Objective: This study aimed to systematically review the effect of lithium on orthodontic tooth movement (OTM). Methods: The focus question was "does lithium have an effect on OTM?" A systematic search was conducted using indexed databases and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines were followed. The quality assessment of the selected studies was performed according to the systematic review center for laboratory animal experimentation. Results: Five of the initially identified 656 articles fulfilled the eligibility criteria and were selected for this review. The studies reported that lithium administration lowered the rate of OTM by inducing a reduction in the number of osteoclasts and possibly inhibiting osteoclastogenesis. These studies further showed an increase in bone density and bone volume by promoting the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway and osteoblastogenesis. It was also noted that lithium reduced orthodontically induced root resorption during experimental OTM. Further, standardized studies are warranted to understand the impact of lithium in OTM. Overall, the risk of bias for 3 studies was very high, high in 1 study, and moderate in 1 study. Conclusion: On an experimental level in animals, lithium decreased the rate of OTM during the active treatment phase by increasing bone density and bone volume and reducing root resorption. In addition, lithium may enhance alveolar bone formation during orthodontic retention. Clinically, this may impact the orthodontic treatment duration in patients receiving lithium, and further studies are needed to understand the true impact of lithium on OTM.

Effect of statins on orthodontic tooth movement: A systematic review of animal and clinical studies.

OBJECTIVE: The objective was to systematically-review the effect of statin drugs on orthodontic-tooth-movement (OTM). DESIGN: The focused-question was "Does statin therapy affect OTM?" PubMed, Ovid Medline, Cochrane Library, Scopus, EMBASE and Web of Science databases were searched without time and language restrictions using different key words. Studies assessing the effect of adjunctive statin administration on OTM compared with orthodontic treatment alone were included. The search was performed up to and including December 2018. Data regarding the study design/grouping, subjects, age/gender, duration of follow-up, outcome variables and parameters related to OTM and statins administration were evaluated. RESULTS: Nine studies (1 clinical and 8 studies performed in animal-models) were included. Six studies used Simvastatin, whereas three studies used Atorvastatin. Six experimental studies and one clinical study reported reduction in OTM upon statin administration. Two experimental studies reported no effect of statin administration on OTM. In 90 % of the studies, the risk-of-bias was high. CONCLUSION: Based upon the high risk-of-bias and methodological inconsistencies among the included studies, the influence of statin delivery on OTM remains debatable.