Clinical Applications of Low-Intensity Pulsed Ultrasound and Its Underlying Mechanisms in Dentistry

Abstract

Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) serves as a non-invasive treatment tool that reaches the lesion site in the form of ultrasound. Due to its low toxicity, low thermal effect, and low immunogenicity, LIPUS has attracted wide interest in disease treatment. It has been demonstrated that LIPUS can activate multiple signal pathways in the shape of sound wave and one of the most acknowledged downstream response components is integrin/focal adhesion kinase (FAK) complex. In recent years, the functions of LIPUS in bone regeneration, bone healing, bone mass maintenance, and cellular metabolism were found. Various oral diseases and their treatments mainly involve hard/soft tissue regeneration and reconstruction, including periodontitis, orthodontic tooth movement (OTM), dental implant, mandibular deficiency, and dentin-pulp complex injury. Thus, more and more researchers pay close attention to the application prospects of LIPUS in stomatology. We searched these articles in PubMed with keywords LIPUS, temporomandibular joint (TMJ), periodontitis, orthodontics, and pulp, then classified the retrieved literature in the past five years by disease type. In this review, the function effects and possible mechanisms of LIPUS in periodontal tissue regeneration, orthodontic treatment, implant osseointegration, TMJ bone formation/cartilage protection, and dentin-pulp complex repair after injury will be summarized. The challenges LIPUS faced and the research limitations of LIPUS will also be elucidated. Therefore, this paper intends to provide new insights into oral disease treatments, explore the optimal application specification of LIPUS, and probe the future research orientation and the prospect of LIPUS in the dental field.