Low-level laser therapy in dentistry (original) (raw)
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The Nuts and Bolts of Low-level Laser (Light) Therapy
Annals of Biomedical Engineering, 2012
Soon after the discovery of lasers in the 1960s it was realized that laser therapy had the potential to improve wound healing and reduce pain, inflammation and swelling. In recent years the field sometimes known as photobiomodulation has broadened to include light-emitting diodes and other light sources, and the range of wavelengths used now includes many in the red and near infrared. The term ''low level laser therapy'' or LLLT has become widely recognized and implies the existence of the biphasic dose response or the Arndt-Schulz curve. This review will cover the mechanisms of action of LLLT at a cellular and at a tissular level and will summarize the various light sources and principles of dosimetry that are employed in clinical practice. The range of diseases, injuries, and conditions that can be benefited by LLLT will be summarized with an emphasis on those that have reported randomized controlled clinical trials. Serious life-threatening diseases such as stroke, heart attack, spinal cord injury, and traumatic brain injury may soon be amenable to LLLT therapy.
Introduction to experimental and clinical studies using low-level Laser (light) therapy (LLLT)
Lasers in Surgery and Medicine, 2010
I am pleased to have the opportunity to serve as guest editor for this special issue of Lasers in Surgery and Medicine that concentrates on low level laser therapy (LLLT) also known as photobiomodulation. I would like to thank Drs. Stuart Nelson and Henry Chan for the invitation to be guest editor and to pay a special tribute to the talented and tireless Ms. Beth Mallen, without whom this would have been an impossible task. LLLT has been known since a few years after the discovery of lasers (incidentally celebrating their 50th anniversary this year). However, it is only in relatively recent times that LLLT has become scientifically and clinically accepted by even a fraction of the medical community. We hope this issue will make a contribution towards increasing the awareness among both physicians and the general scientific public that hard evidence is now available that "sheds light" on the basic mechanisms, preclinical applications and clinical benefits of LLLT. It contains a review, basic science and clinical research submissions providing new information concerning cell biology studies after LLLT and highlighting many possible clinical applications of LLLT.
2004
The LLLT literature is large, with more than 1000 papers published on this topic. A problem in dissecting this literature is the variation in methodology and dosimetry between different studies. Not only have a range of different wavelengths been examined, but exposure times and the frequency of treatments also vary. The inclusion of sham-irradiated controls in clinical studies is an important element, since placebo effects can be important, particularly in terms of the level of pain experienced and reported following treatment [1].
ow-intensity laser therapy aims at pain suppression, edema reduction and acceleration of wound healing. The main goal of this study was to clinically evaluate the effects of Aluminum Gallium Arsenate laser -670nm in wound healing after gingivoplasty in 11 patients. Surgery was performed in anterior superior and/or inferior regions. The right side of the patient (test group) received a laser energy density of 4J/cm², in a 48-hour interval, during one week, totalizing four sessions. The irradiation was punctual in a contact mode in three points. The left side did not receive irradiation (control group). Clinical evaluation was performed by five specialists in periodontology through photography of the treated areas at post-surgical periods of 7, 15, 21,30,60 days. The observers pointed the best healed side. The Sign test was used for statistical analysis with a confidence level of 5% (P<0.05). The examiners found a better pattern of healing sometimes in the test and sometimes in the control group until 21 days after surgery. After this period there was no apparent difference between them. There was no statistical difference between the sides (p>0.05). These results have shown that low-intensity laser therapy did not accelerate oral mucosa healing after gingivoplasty. UNITERMS: Laser; Gingivoplasty; Wound healing. terapia com laser em baixa intensidade visa a biomodulação dos tecidos para se obter supressão da dor, redução do edema, e aceleração da cicatrização. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar, clinicamente, os efeitos do laser diodo de arseneto de gálio e alumínio (GaAlAs) -670nm-na cicatrização de gengivoplastias em 11 pacientes. As cirurgias foram realizadas nas regiões anteriores superior e/ou inferior. O lado direito (teste) foi irradiado, na forma pontual, com 4J/cm² por ponto, em três locais diferentes. A aplicação do laser foi feita a cada 48h, durante uma semana, totalizando quatro sessões. O lado esquerdo (controle) não foi irradiado. A avaliação clínica foi feita por cinco periodontistas, através de fotografias dos períodos pósoperatórios de 7,15,21, 30 e 60 dias. Os examinadores apontaram o lado mais bem cicatrizado ou se ambos estavam iguais. Para análise estatística dos dados clínicos, foi utilizado o teste dos sinais com um nível de significância de 5% (p<0,05). Os resultados mostraram que havia preferência ora pelo lado teste, ora pelo lado controle até o período de 21 dias e nos períodos subseqüentes ambos os lados foram considerados iguais. A diferença entre os lados estudados não foi estatisticamente significante, sugerindo que o laser não acelerou a cicatrização da mucosa oral.
Use of Laser Therapy in the Healing Process: A Literature Review
Photomedicine and Laser Surgery, 2015
Objective: The purpose of this work was to conduct a literature search on the use of laser therapy in the tissue repair process, addressing different lasers and parameters used by the authors. Methods: We conducted a literature review of electronic databases to search for articles that investigate the effects of laser therapy on wound healing in rats, mice, and humans with specific diseases, published from January 2008 to March 2013. Results: In the 31 articles selected, the most frequently used type of laser was gallium-aluminium-arsenium (GaAIAs) in male rats. We noted that the protocol for laser application differed from author to author, making it difficult to compare results regarding the choice of parameters and treatment protocol. Conclusions: Laser therapy had a positive effect on the healing process of cutaneous lesions in rats, which was not observed in humans.
The Effects of Low Level Laser Irradiation on Gingival Inflammation
Photomedicine and Laser Surgery, 2010
Objective: The goal of this study was to analyze the effects of low level laser irradiation treatment and conservative treatment on gingival inflammation. Background: It is widely accepted today that the primary etiological factor for the onset of periodontitis is dental plaque, although the exact mechanism of damage remains unknown. Inflammation is a basic response of periodontal tissue to damage and serves as a fast first line of defense against damage and infections. The treatment of gingivitis and periodontitis has gone through various stages: from the simplest, classical treatment methods, through improved radical interventions, to a new era marked by laser technology. Low level laser irradiation has an anti-inflammatory effect, both general and local. Materials and methods: The research was done on patients who had chronic periodontal disease (mild periodontitis) with expressed clinical symptoms of gingival inflammation. All patients in the study underwent conservative treatment. After conservative therapy, the patients from the experimental group were subjected to 10 low level laser treatment sessions. Both groups underwent regular follow-up visits 1, 3, and 6 months after treatment, which involved only clinical examination using plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI), and bleeding on probing index (BOP index). Results: A considerable decrease in all three indexes after the application of both therapies was noticed. The follow-up visits revealed the difference in index values. With laser therapy, the values of indexes decreased steadily, whereas with conservative therapy they increased up to a certain point, but did not reach the pre-therapy values. Conclusions: A general conclusion can be drawn that low level laser irradiation (semiconductor, 670 nm) can be used as a successful physical adjuvant method of treatment, which, together with traditional periodontal therapy, leads to better and longer-lasting therapeutic results.
Low-Level Laser Therapy : A Literature Review
2014
The use of therapeutic low-level laser has become widespread in veterinary medicine. A number of illnesses and physical conditions are reported to respond to laser therapy (photobiomodulation.) There is support in the scientific literature for many of the physiologic effects claimed by proponents of laser therapy at the biochemical level. At the level of the organism however, there is still significant debate regarding the efficacy of laser in producing the desired clinical response.
Laser phototherapy in the treatment of periodontal disease. A review
Lasers in Medical Science, 2010
Many studies in the literature address the effect of low-power lasers in the management of pathologies related to periodontal tissues. Due to the lack of standardized information and the absence of a consensus, this review presents the current status of laser phototherapy (LPT) in periodontics and discusses its benefits and limits in the treatment of periodontal disease. The literature was searched for reviews and original research articles relating to LPT and periodontal disease. The articles were selected using either electronic search engines or manual tracing of the references cited in key papers. The literature search retrieved references on wound and bone healing, analgesia, hypersensitivity, inflammatory process and antimicrobial photodynamic therapy. Each topic is individually addressed in this review. The current literature suggests that LPT is effective in modulating different periodontal disease aspects in vitro, in animals, and in simple clinical models. Further development of this therapy is now dependent on new clinical trials with more complex study designs.
Lasers in Medical Science, 2013
The aim of the present study was to compare the effectiveness of four different laser wavelengths (660, 810, 980, and 1,064 nm) used for low-level laser therapy (LLLT) on the healing of mucositis in an animal model of wound healing by investigating the expression of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β), and blood-derived fibroblast growth factor (bFGF). Thirty-five male Wistar albino rats with a weight of 250-300 g body mass and 5 months old were used in the study. All animals were intraperitoneally injected with 100 mg/kg of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) on the first day and 65 mg/kg of 5-FU on the third day. The tip of an 18-gauge needle was used in order to develop a superficial scratching on the left cheek pouch mucosa by dragging twice in a linear movement on third and fifth days. After ulcerative mucositis were clinically detected on the animals' left cheek pouch mucosa, the laser therapy was started. Four different laser wavelengths (660 nm, HELBO, Bredent; 810 nm, Fotona XD, Fotona; 980 nm, ARC Fox; and 1,064 nm, Fidelis Plus 3, Fotona) used for LLLT at ED 8 J/cm 2 daily from the first to the fourth days. Oval excisional biopsy was taken from the site of the wound, and the expression of PDGF, TGF-β, and bFGF was evaluated. The obtained data were analyzed by one2-way ANOVA, and then Tukey HSD tests were used for pairwise comparisons among groups (α=0.05). The one-way ANOVA test indicated that expression values of the growth factors, PDGF and bFGF, were significantly affected by irradiation of different wavelengths of lasers (p<0.001). However, expression value of the TGF-β was not affected by irradiation of different wavelengths of lasers (p>0.05). The highest PDGF expression was detected in neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) laser group (p<0.05), and there were no statistically significant differences among the other groups (p>0.05). The highest bFGF expression was detected in 980-nm diode and Nd:YAG laser groups (p<0.05), and there were no statistically significant differences among the other groups (p>0.05). These findings suggest that low-level Nd:YAG and 980-nm diode laser therapy accelerate the wound healing process by changing the expression of PDGF and bFGF genes responsible for the stimulation of the cell proliferation and fibroblast growth.
The Use of Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) For
2015
In 1903, Dr. Nils Finsen was awarded a Nobel Prize for his contribution to the treatment of diseases, especially lupus vulgaris, with concentrated light radiation. 11 In 1960, Professor Maiman TH 12 built the first working red ruby laser, 12 but it was not until 1967 when Mester E et al. 13,14 was able to demonstrate the phenomenon of "laser bio stimulation". 13,14 In 1999, Whelan H et al. 15 presented his work on the medical applications of light emitting diodes (LED) for use on the