Published in:
01-12-2017 | Original Article
Acceptance and efficiency of anesthesia by photobiomodulation therapy during conventional cavity preparation in permanent teeth: a pilot randomized crossover clinical study
Published in: Lasers in Dental Science | Issue 2-4/2017
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Purpose
Fear and anxiety for pain makes people avoid dental treatments. The main aim of the study was to evaluate the acceptance and efficiency of pulpal anesthesia induced by photobiomodulation (PBM) therapy, during conventional cavity preparation of decayed permanent teeth.
Methods
Patients of 11–25 years old (n = 24) were included in a split-mouth and randomized crossover clinical study. Conventional cavity treatment was made in two contralateral decayed teeth of the same arch, in similar extent of caries ICDAS 4 or 5, of each patient, one under conventional local anesthesia by pharmacological agents (control group) and another under pulpal anesthesia induced by PBM therapy (PBM group). The diode laser irradiation parameters were 810 nm wavelength, CW, non-contact mode, 600 μm hand piece, 6 mm, 250 mW, 120 s (60 s buccal, 60 s lingual), 0.88 W/cm2, 106.2 J/cm2, 30 J. The Wong Baker’s faces pain scale was used for assessing the discomfort levels, whereas the acceptance was obtained by asking the preference of the patient. Data were statistically compared using the Mann-Whitney Wilcoxon’s test (p < 0.05).
Results
For laser anesthesia (PBM group), the mean discomfort valued was 1.37 ± 1.55, similar to that for injection anesthesia (control group) which was 1.25 ± 1.53 (p = 0.59), independently of the ICDAS classification. Twenty-two out of 24 patients replied that they prefer the method with the laser (91.7%).
Conclusions
This pilot study demonstrated the clinical effectiveness and acceptance of PBM induces pulpal anesthesia for cavity preparation of decayed permanent teeth and deserves further research and development.