Potential of lasers for the treatment of dentin hypersensitivity: systematic review

Abstract

Introduction: Dentin hypersensitivity (DH) is characterized as a very common oral condition of acute pain. This pain occurs due to exposure of the dentinal tubules to stimuli from the oral environment. There are different types of treatment available that are used to improve this condition, and laser therapy is one of them that provides analgesia, reducing the painful sensation of DH. Therefore, it is important to conduct a current literature survey in order to obtain scientific evidence on the effectiveness of the laser as a treatment for DH and the parameters of laser application. Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the effect of laser therapy on pain in patients with dentin hypersensitivity through a systematic review. Methodology: The Pubmed, Cochrane and Embase databases were used to search for articles, without restrictions on years or languages. The following keywords/terms were used: “tooth”, “dentine”, “pulp”, “sensitivity”, “hypersensitivity”, “irradiation”, “discomfort”, “pain”, “low-level light therapy”, “low-intensity light”, “soft laser”, “cold laser”, and “photobiomodulation”. A standardized form was created to extract the data. The Cochrane’s risk of bias tool for randomized trials was used to assess the risk of bias. Results: Data were analyzed through a qualitative synthesis detailing the main results of the included studies. The use of a low-power laser was effective in reducing dentin hypersensitivity in 100% (n=13) of the included studies, with a reduction of at least 70%.  Conclusions: All studies showed a low risk of bias.  The use of low-power lasers for treating dentin hypersensitivity appears to be effective.

Keywords: Dentin hypersensitivity; Laser therapy; Pain; Treatment.