Compiled by Dr Igor Cernavin, Prosthodontist, Honorary Senior Fellow University of Melbourne School of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, Director and Cofounder of the Asia Pacific Institute of Dental Education and Research (AIDER), Australian representative of World Federation of Laser Dentistry (WFLD).
Mostafa et al1 carried out a clinical study to evaluate the effect of photodynamic therapy mediated by methylene blue on signs and symptoms of erosive oral lichen planus lesions in comparison with treatment using conventional topical corticosteroids. Their conclusion was that the laser treatment was superior because it was much more effective in pain reduction and lesion regression.
Pauletti and coworkers2 evaluated contamination in vitro, of the internal contents of composite resin tubes in the dental clinics of a higher-education institution, as well as the effect of photoactivation on the level of contamination. They found that the photoactivation process potentially reduces the risk of cross-contamination.
Jang et al3 presented a study assessing the automated ablation of dental composite using an IR pulsed laser coupled to a plume emission spectral feedback system. The abstract is reproduced in full.
Dental composites are used as restorative materials for filling cavities, shaping, and covering teeth for esthetic purposes, and as adhesives. Dentists spend more time replacing existing restorations that fail than they do placing new restorations. Tooth colored restorations are difficult to differentiate from the surrounding tooth structure making them challenging to remove without damaging healthy tooth structure. Previous studies have demonstrated that CO2 lasers in conjunction with spectral feedback can be used to selectively remove composite from tooth surfaces. The purpose of this study is to assemble a system that is feasible for clinical use incorporating a spectral feedback system, a scanning system, articulating arm and a clinical handpiece and then evaluate the performance of that system on extracted teeth. In addition, the selectivity of composite removal was analyzed using a high-speed optical coherence tomography system that is suitable for clinical use. The system was capable of rapidly removing composite from small preparations on tooth occlusal surfaces with a mean loss of enamel of less than 20-mum.
Ghidini and coworkers4 carried out a study on patients with MRONJ and found that when MRONJ occurs, surgical laser treatment with Er:YAG seems to represent the option with highest percentage of success; for patients with contraindication to surgery, LLLT helps to improve outcomes of the
medical therapy.
Garcia-Delaney et al5 evaluated the effectiveness of photobiomodulation in the treatment of dentin hypersensitivity using 660nm, 200mW, CW, illuminated area 1.15cm2, 173mW/cm2, 60 seconds, 12 J, 10.4J/cm2. They found that the level of discomfort decreased immediately following diode laser therapy, and continued to demonstrate a decrease for the duration of the study.
Dostalova and coworkers7 analyzed the effect of therapeutic low-level laser therapy (LLLT) regarding its ability to check pain and inflammation connected with surgical removal of impacted lower third molar teeth. They concluded that the 830nm wavelength penetrates to deep-seated tissues and there was no temperature rise in the face.
Buchaim et al8 evaluated the efficacy of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) on qualitative, quantitative, and functional aspects in the facial nerve regeneration process in wistar rats. They found that LLLT enhanced axonal regeneration and accelerated functional recovery.
Mir and coworkers9 presented a methodology for using diode lasers in the defocused mode for biostimulatory purposes for vital pulp therapy which clinicians may find useful.
Tomov et al10 presented a case of treatment of black hairy tongue using a combination of laser ablation with an Er;YAG laser and toluidine blue-mediated photodynamic therapy with a diode laser.
Olivi and coworkers11 presented part 2 of their paper on hard tissue applications using laser in paediatric dentistry. The abstract is reproduced in full.
Erbium lasers can provide effective and minimally invasive caries removal in children. The bonding phase remains a critic step as well as the choice of material. Glass ionomers exhibits lower bonding properties in laser irradiated teeth compared to the conventional method or to composite and resin modified glass ionomer. Laser can also provide effective decontamination and coagulation effects in vital and non vital pulp therapy of primary teeth, improving and simplifying the cleaning and disinfecting steps.
Tabariet al12 published a study to determine the effect of diode laser irradiation on compressive strength of dental amalgam. One of the biggest disadvantages of dental amalgam is that gaining its ultimate strength is a slow process and this especially a problem in paediatric dentistry. They found that irradiation using a 810nm diode laser can significantly increase the compressive strength of dental amalgam especially in the first 15 minutes.
Abduljabbar and coworkers13 carried out a systematic review of the efficacy of surgical laser therapy in the management of oral pigmented lesions. Their conclusions were that lasers are effective in the management of such lesions including physiologic gingival pigmentation, smokers' melanosis and pigmentation in Laugier-Hunziker syndrome. Different laser types (CO2, Er:YAG and Diode) showed comparable outcomes in the treatment.
Bilandzic et al14 present a novel technique with the potential to protect susceptible teeth against caries and erosion. They hypothesized that a tailored glass-ceramic material could be sprayed onto enamel-like substrates to create superior adhesion properties after sintering by a CO2 laser beam.
Melo and coworkers15 evaluated the in vivo effectiveness of two fluorescence techniques (DIAGNOdent and VistaProof) and of visual and tactile evaluation in the diagnosis of occlusal caries in permanent teeth. They found that the fluorescence-based techniques showed greater internal and external validity than the visual and tactile methods in diagnosing occlusal caries in permanent teeth and that VistaProof was the best method for diagnosing caries in its early stages.
REFERENCES
1. Mostafa, Diana; Moussa, Eglal; Alnouaem, Manal. Evaluation Of Photodynamic Therapy In Treatment Of Oral Erosive Lichen Planus In Comparison With Topically Applied Corticosteroids. Photodiagnosis and photodynamic therapy, 10.1016/j.pdpdt.2017.04.014 2017-Apr-24.
2. Pauletti, Natalia A; Girotto, Luiza P S; Leite, Francoise H S; Mario, Debora N. Effect of photoactivation on the reduction of composite resin contamination. European journal of oral sciences, 125 (3):223-226; 10.1111/eos.12345 2017-Jun.
3. Jang, Andrew T; Chan, Kenneth H; Fried, Daniel. Automated ablation of dental composite using an IR pulsed laser coupled to a plume emission spectral feedback system. Proceedings of SPIE--the International Society for Optical Engineering, 10044 10.1117/12.2256698 2017-Jan-28.
4. Ghidini, Giulia; Manfredi, Maddalena; Giovannacci, Ilaria; Mergoni, Giovanni; Sarraj, Amin; Mureddu, Maura; Giunta, Giovanna; Bonanini, Mauro; Meleti, Marco; Vescovi, Paolo. Medication-Related Osteonecrosis of the Jaw: risk factors in patients under biphosphonate versus patients under antiresorptive-antiangiogenic drugs. Minerva stomatologica, 10.23736/S0026-4970.17.04056-0 2017-May-10.
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7. Dostalova, Tatjana; Kroulikova, Veronika; Podzimek, Stepan; Jelinkova, Helena. Low-Level Laser Therapy After Wisdom Teeth Surgery: Evaluation of Immunologic Markers (Secretory Immunoglobulin A and Lysozyme Levels) and Thermographic Examination: Placebo Controlled Study. Photomedicine and laser surgery, 10.1089/pho.2016.4214 2017-May-16.
8. Buchaim, Daniela Vieira; Andreo, Jesus Carlos; Ferreira Junior, Rui Seabra; Barraviera, Benedito; Rodrigues, Antonio de Castro; Macedo, Mariana de Cassia; Rosa Junior, Geraldo Marco; Shinohara, Andre Luis; Santos German, Iris Jasmin; Pomini, Karina Torres; Buchaim, Rogerio Leone. Efficacy of Laser Photobiomodulation on Morphological and Functional Repair of the Facial Nerve. Photomedicine and laser surgery, 10.1089/pho.2016.4204 2017-May-26.
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11. Olivi, G; Caprioglio, C; Olivi, M; Genovese, M D. Paediatric laser dentistry. Part 2: Hard tissue laser applications. European journal of paediatric dentistry : official journal of European Academy of Paediatric Dentistry, 18 (2):163-166; 10.23804/ejpd.2017.18.02.14 2017-Jun.
12. Tabari, Mitra; Fekrazad, Reza; Alaghemand, Homayoun; Hamzeh, Mahtab. Effect of diode laser irradiation on compressive strength of dental amalgam. Electronic physician, 9 (4):4084-4089; 10.19082/4084 2017-Apr.
13. Abduljabbar, Tariq; Vohra, Fahim; Akram, Zohaib; Ghani, Siti Mariam Ab; Al-Hamoudi, Nawwaf; Javed, Fawad. Efficacy of surgical laser therapy in the management of oral pigmented lesions: A systematic review. Journal of photochemistry and photobiology. B, Biology, 173 353-359; 10.1016/j.jphotobiol.2017.06.016 2017-Jun-15.
14. Bilandzic, Marin Dean; Wollgarten, Susanne; Stollenwerk, Jochen; Poprawe, Reinhart; Esteves-Oliveira, Marcella; Fischer, Horst. Glass-ceramic coating material for the CO2 laser based sintering of thin films as caries and erosion protection. Dental materials : official publication of the Academy of Dental Materials, 10.1016/j.dental.2017.06.008 2017-Jun-26.
15. Melo, Maria; Pascual, Agustin; Camps, Isabel; Del Campo, Angel; Ata-Ali, Javier. Caries diagnosis using light fluorescence devices in comparison with traditional visual and tactile evaluation: a prospective study in 152 patients. Odontology, 105 (3):283-290; 10.1007/s10266-016-0272-3 2017-Jul.