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Several guided bone regeneration techniques have been used in the past aiming to treat infrabony defects with promising outcome. Recently, low level laser therapy (LLLT) has been introduced as an adjunctive tool with better bone and soft tissue healing due to its biostimulation and biomodulation properties. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the adjunctive effect of Gallium – Aluminium – Arsenide (GaAlAs) laser in the management of periodontal infrabony defects. This was a randomised controlled, double blinded, split mouth clinical study carried out on subjects with bilateral infrabony defects. Clinical parameters of plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI), probing pocket depth (PD) and clinical attachment level (CAL) were recorded as well as infrabony defect depth using radiovisiograph at baseline, 3 months and 6 months intervals. The test group was treated with bioactive glass and GaAlAs laser on the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th day following periodontal open flap surgery and the control group received bioactive glass only. All data were collected and analyzed using Wilcoxon signed rank test and paired t-test. A total of 15 subjects were enrolled in this study. There was a significant reduction in the PD (p=0.05), CAL (p=0.01) and in defect depth observed at 6 months interval in the test group compared to control group. Based on the current data, the application of LLLT as an adjunctive tool with bioactive glass may have a superior outcome in treating infrabony defects compared to bioactive glass alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the development of lasers in 1960, the use of these instruments has become more popular in medicine and dentistry. All lasers consist of a laser medium, an optical cavity, and a source of energy to pump the laser medium. The laser medium can be in the form of: a gas, eg, carbon dioxide (CO2), argon, or helium-neon (He-Ne); a liquid (eg, a dye); a solid, eg, yttrium-aluminum-garnet bar doped with neodymium (Nd:YAG), holmium (Ho:YAG) or erbium (Er:YAG); or a semiconductor, eg, gallium-aluminum arsenide (Ga-Al-As). The laser beam can be transformed to radiant energy that can be focused to a very small spot size to yield the enormous power densities which are necessary for the cutting, vaporizing and coagulating effects of lasers. This paper presents a review of the literature for potential laser applications in periodontics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Since root resection is one of the most frequent surgical interventions in the oral cavity, this study aimed to determine the analgesic effect of soft laser after such surgical treatment. Materials and Methods: A total of 54 patients underwent root resection of a maxillary anterior tooth. In 27 examinees of the experimental group, the operative area was postoperatively irradiated with soft laser, whereas in the rest of the patients, the treatment procedure was only simulated. Results and Conclusion: The investigation showed a high percentage of postoperative pain reduction in the patients of the laser-treated group, so it can be concluded that soft laser is a completely safe means of treatment, which, combined with standard methods of treatment, may have very favorable effects on the postopertive pain reduction after root resection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To evaluate the response of intraoral soft tissue by low level laser light, histologically and bio-chemically. Materials and methods: The study was performed on (20) healthy rats. A clean two sided mucoperiosteal flap was raised opposite to the area of lower incisors. The rats were divided into two groups, ten for each. Histological specimens were taken at days 5th,9thand 11th postoperative period .The dose of laser therapy in each session was 0.75 J/cm2. Each rat in each group received this dose daily for 11thdays at an interval of 15 minutes. Histopathological analysis were made for both groups detecting number of blood vessels (neovascularization),collagen arrangements and number of fibrob-lasts. Biochemical analysis of C-reactive protein(CRP) was also conducted. Results: Laser therapy showed enhancement of neovasculazation at days 5and 9 postoperatively .While collagen arrangement showed significant changes at the 5th ,9th and 11th postoperative days. Biochemical analysis showed significant increase of CRP at the 5th postoperative day. This increase was followed by a significant decrease at the 7th postoperative day in comparison with the control group. Conclusion: The present results indicated that low level laser therapy at a dose of 0.75 J/cm2 enhanced wound healing .

Background. Oral mucositis is a common complication of some malignancies treatment, causing therapeutic modifications due to patient's debilitation, which often interferes with the prognosis of the disease. Many attempts have been made to find an optimal treatment or preventive method to minimize the severity of oral mucositis. Several studies have shown good results with the use of low-energy laser, with the aim of accelerating the process of wound healing and promoting pain relief. Methods. Patients (n=18) who developed oral mucositis during chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy were submitted to low-energy laser applications until cessation of symptoms. Mucositis severity was scored by an oral mucositis scale based on clinical features and by an oral toxicity scale from the National Cancer Institute based on the ability to swallow; pain severity was scored by subjects on a visual analogue scale before and after the applications. Results. Immediate pain relief was achieved in 66.6% of the patients after the first application. Based on the functional scale, mucositis grade III (not capable to eat solids) was reduced in 42.85% of the cases. According to the scale based on the clinical features, mucositis grade IV (ulcerative lesions) was reduced in 75% of the patients that presented this grade of mucositis at the beginning of laser therapy. Conclusions. Low-energy laser was well-tolerated and showed beneficial effects on the management of oral mucositis, improving the quality of life during the oncologic treatment.Mucosite é a complicação oral mais comum do tratamento de algumas doenças malignas, podendo causar a necessidade de modificações terapêuticas, o que pode interferir com o prognóstico da doença. Muitas tentativas têm sido feitas com o intuito de desenvolver um tratamento ou método preventivo para minimizar a severidade da mucosite oral. Vários estudos têm mostrado bons resultados com o uso do laser de baixa potência, devido à aceleração do processo de cicatrização das lesões e da promoção do alívio da dor. Métodos: Os pacientes que desenvolveram mucosite oral durante tratamento quimioterápico e/ou radioterápico (n=18), foram submetidos a aplicações de laser de baixa potência até que fosse atingida a cessação dos sintomas. A severidade da mucosite foi avaliada através de uma escala baseada em características clínicas e de uma escala para avaliação de toxicidade oral desenvolvida pelo Instituto Nacional do Cancer, baseada na habilidade de deglutição; a dor foi avaliada através de uma escala visual, antes e depois de cada aplicação. Resultados: Alívio imediato da dor após a primeira aplicação foi referido por 66.6% dos pacientes. Com base na escala funcional, mucosite grau III (incapacidade de ingerir alimentos sólidos) foi reduzida em 42.85% dos casos. De acordo com a escala baseada em aspectos clínicos, mucosite grau IV (presença de úlceras) foi reduzida em 75% dos pacientes que apresentavam essa condição no início da terapia com laser. Conclusões: O laser de baixa potência foi bem tolerado pelos pacientes, e mostrou efeitos benéficos durante o manejo da mucosite oral, melhorando a qualidade de vida dos pacientes durante o tratamento oncológico.

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Pain, swelling, and trismus are the most common complications after surgical removal of impacted lower third molars. The aim of this study was to evaluate the analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects of a low-level laser therapy (Laser Smile™, Biolase®, San Clemente, USA) applied to the wound appeared after the surgical removal of impacted lower third molars. A prospective, randomized, and double-blind study was undertaken in 20 healthy patients with two symmetrically impacted lower third molars. The application of a low-level laser was made randomly on one of the two sides after surgery. The experimental side received 5 J/cm of energy density, a wavelength of 810 nm, and an output power of 0.5 W. On the control side, a handpiece was applied intraorally, but the laser was not activated. Evaluations of postoperative pain, trismus, and swelling were made. The sample consisted of 11 women and nine men, and mean age was 23.35 years (18-37). The pain level in the first hours after surgery was lower in the experimental side than in the placebo side, although without statistically significant differences ( p = 0.258). Swelling and trismus at the 2nd and 7th postoperative days were slightly higher in the control side, although not statistically significant differences were detected ( p > 0.05). The application of a low-level laser with the parameters used in this study did not show beneficial affects in reducing pain, swelling, and trismus after removal of impacted lower third molars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An animal study is presented examining the effect of low level laser (LLL) treatment on nerve regeneration following axonotmesis. Twenty animals received a standardised injury to the right sciatic nerve using a time, load and length sequence (10 min, 150 N, 5 mm) known to cause extensive axonal degeneration of the rat sciatic nerve. The LLL treatment was administered using a hand-held laser probe in light contact with the skin on the dorsal aspect of the hind leg overlying the site of the axonotmesis injury to the sciatic nerve. A group of 10 animals were treated with 6J of LLL (GaA1As 830 nm) daily for a period of 28 d. Ten more animals were treated daily with a sham exposure setting and served as controls. Nerve function was assessed by a recognised method of walking tract print analysis; the "Sciatic Functional Index" (SFI), and nerve regeneration was assessed by recording the evoked compound action potentials (cAP) in the common peroneal nerve. At 21 d post-injury, the laser-treated group had a significantly lower median SFI than the sham laser-treated group, indicating that the real laser treatment had improved functional recovery in the nerve. However, no differences were found between the evoked cAP parameters that were measured in the laser-treated and sham laser-treated groups. Histological examination reiterated the lack of difference between the two groups. Consequently the effects of LLL on recovery must have occurred more peripherally to the point measured. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of low-energy laser (He-Ne) irradiation on the process of neoformation of blood capillaries during regeneration in the toad ( Bufo viridis) gastrocnemius muscle was studied using histomorphometric methods. The injured zones of the experimental toads were subjected to four direct He-Ne laser irradiations (632.8 nm wavelength; 6.0 mW for 2.3 min) every alternate day, commencing on the second day after injury. Muscles that were injured as above and subjected to red light irradiation served as control. The volume density (cm/cm) of the capillaries in the injured zone at 9 days after injury was significantly ( P<0.01) higher (0.09±0.006) than in the control muscles (0.048±0.007). At 14 days after injury, the volume density in the injured zone of the control muscles further increased, while the value in the laser-irradiated muscles remained unchanged. The surface density (m/cm) of the capillaries in the injured zone was 2.3-fold higher in the laser-irradiated muscles than in the control muscles at 9 days after injury. The surface density further increased in the control muscles between 9 and 14 days after injury, while in the laser-irradiated muscles there was a decrease in this value during the above period. The surface-to-volume ratios of the capillaries in the injured zone of control and laser-irradiated muscles indicate a straighter, rather than a convoluted appearance between 9 and 14 days after injury. It is concluded that He-Ne laser irradiation during skeletal muscle regeneration in the toad markedly promotes the process of neoformation of blood vessels in the injured zone. The early revascularization of the injured zone in the laser-irradiated muscles may explain the faster maturation of myogenic structures in the regenerating zone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The treatment of patients with chronic tinnitus is very problematic and therefore otologists are trying to discover more suitable courses of therapy. In this study we wanted to evaluate the outcome of using a combination of EGb 761 and soft laser therapy. We examined 120 patients with an average duration of tinnitus of 10 years. The patients underwent pure-tone audiometry, speech audiometry and objective audiometry tests. The intensity and frequency of tinnitus was also determined. EGb 761 was administered 3 weeks before starting soft laser therapy. Patients underwent 10 sessions of laser therapy, each lasting for 10 min. An improvement in tinnitus was audiometrically confirmed in 50.8% of patients: 10 dB in 18; 20 dB in 22; 30 dB in 10; 40 dB in 6; and 50 dB in 5. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]