The effect of photobiomodulation using low-level laser therapy on tooth sensitivity after dental bleaching: a systematic review.

The authors aimed to conduct a systematic review to assess data from the current literature on the effectiveness of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) in preventing tooth sensitivity (TS) after tooth whitening (DB). PRISMA guidelines for systematic reviews were followed. Clinical trials evaluating the treatment of LLLT in patients with sensitivity after tooth whitening were selected. A full bibliographic search was performed on May 4, 2021, in the following databases: Embase, MEDLINE via PubMed, SciELO, VHL Regional Portal, Web of Science, Gray Literature, Scopus, ClinicalTrials.gov and Cochrane Library. This study followed Cochrane's recommendations for analyzing risk of bias. A total of 1054 studies were found (255 studies were excluded because they were duplicates and 785 because of titles and abstracts). Only 14 articles were selected for analysis, of which eight were excluded because they had one or more exclusion criteria, resulting in six articles included in this systematic review, the vast majority being classified as low risk of bias. The studies reviewed indicated that LLLT showed promise in preventing TS after TB. However, evidence is limited and more clinical trials with low risk of bias are needed to reach a definitive conclusion on the action of LLLT in pain control after TB.

Effect of low-level laser therapy combined with 5000 parts per million fluoride dentifrice on postbleaching sensitivity: A clinical, randomized, and double-blind study.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this double-blind, randomized, controlled clinical study was to assess the efficacy of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) combined with 5000 ppm fluoride dentifrice on postbleaching sensitivity in teeth exposed to 35% hydrogen peroxide for four weeks. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-five volunteers were evaluated using the split-mouth model in which the right and left maxillary/mandibular quadrants were randomized and allocated to one of two groups: GPLACEBO, in which the laser tip was positioned without the emission of light (placebo effect) + 5000 ppm sodium fluoride, or GLASER, which comprised LLLT + 5000 ppm sodium fluoride. For both groups, LLLT and placebo were used before bleaching, whereas fluoride was applied after bleaching. LLLT was applied at two points: on the central cervical and medial regions of the incisors, canines, and premolars in the corresponding hemi-arch. At each point, 60 J/cm2 was applied for 16 seconds with an irradiance of 3.75 W/cm2 using the therapeutic infrared device. To assess tooth sensitivity, a modified visual analogue scale was used after an evaporative stimulus, and a daily pain questionnaire was also applied. RESULTS: The Wilcoxon and Friedman tests demonstrated a significant difference in the incidence of sensitivity pain between GPLACEBO and GLASER (P ≤ .05), with different evaluation times. CONCLUSION: Teeth treated with laser therapy in combination with the topical use of sodium fluoride at each bleaching session demonstrated less sensitivity compared with the application of sodium fluoride only. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The use of a low-level laser therapy in combination with topical use of sodium fluoride improves symptoms of dentin sensitivity at each bleaching session.

A randomized clinical study of the performance of self-etching adhesives containing HEMA and 10-MDP on non-carious cervical lesions: A 2-year follow-up study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association of HEMA and 10-MDP in the clinical performance of self-etching adhesives in the restoration of NCCLs during 2-years. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 60 restorations were performed in 17 volunteers and randomized into three groups: G1 (n = 20) - Prime and Bond Universal (10-MDP); G2 (n = 20) - Optibond All-in-One (HEMA); and G3 (n = 20) - Clearfil SE (10-MDP and HEMA). No cavity preparation was performed. After 2 years, the restorations were evaluated using the modified USPHS criteria for retention, marginal adaptation/ staining, postoperative sensitivity and secondary caries. The results were analyzed using Fisher's exact test and Kruskal-Wallis test. RESULTS: All groups showed 100% retention rate, except G1, who lost two restorations (p > 0.05). Regarding marginal adaptation, G1 showed greater deficiency, as only eight restorations (40%) remained intact (p < 0.05). Regarding marginal staining, G1 and G2 showed higher rate, as only 12 restorations (65%) in each one were free of staining (p < 0.05). All groups showed similar results for postoperative sensitivity and secondary caries (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: The association of HEMA and 10-MDP monomers in the self-etching adhesives did not influence the clinical performance of the NCCL restorations with respect to retention, postoperative sensitivity, and incidence of secondary caries. However, positively influenced the marginal adaptation and marginal staining at the 2-year follow-up. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The association of HEMA and 10-MDP monomers in the self-etching adhesives positively influence the clinical performance of the NCCL restorations with respect to marginal adaptation and marginal staining.

Combination of strontium chloride and photobiomodulation in the control of tooth sensitivity post-bleaching: A split-mouth randomized clinical trial.

OBJECTIVE: This split-mouth randomized controlled clinical trial assessed the effect of 10% strontium chloride in combination with photobiomodulation (PBM) for the control of tooth sensitivity (TS) post-bleaching. METHODS: The upper/lower, right and left quadrants of fifty volunteers were randomized and allocated to four groups (n = 25): PLACEBO-placebo gel + simulation of PBM; Placebo + PBM; STRONTIUM-10% strontium chloride + simulation of PBM; and PBM + STRONTIUM-10% strontium chloride + PBM. All groups received tooth bleaching treatment with 35% hydrogen peroxide. For the PBM treatment, the laser tip was positioned in the apical and cervical regions of the teeth bleached in the respective hemi-arch. The laser system was operated in continuous mode, using 1.7 J of energy. A dose of 60 J/cm2 was applied to each point for 16 seconds under 808 nm near-infrared light (100mW of power), with a point area of 0.028 cm2. TS was assessed during a 21-day follow-up, using the modified visual analogue scale. RESULTS: In the intragroup assessment, the Friedman test indicated that PBM + STRONTIUM promoted the greatest reduction in TS after the second week of treatment (p ≤ 0.05). The Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test indicated that the groups Placebo + PBM, STRONTIUM, and STRONTIUM + PBM did not differ statistically (p ≥ 0.05) in the first and third weeks of treatment The group PLACEBO exhibited the greatest TS in the first three days after each bleaching session. CONCLUSION: The combination of 10% strontium chloride with PBM was effective in reducing post-bleaching TS; however, the combination of 10% strontium chloride with PBM was effective in reducing post-bleaching TS; however, it did not differ from the individual use of Placebo + PBM or STRONTIUM groups assessed after 21 days of follow-up.

Accuracy of near-infrared light transillumination (NILT) compared to bitewing radiograph for detection of interproximal caries in the permanent dentition: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the accuracy of the near-infrared light transillumination (NILT) for the detection of interproximal dental caries in permanent dentition when compared to bitewing X-ray (BW). DATA: In vivo studies that detected interproximal primary caries in permanent teeth by using NILT and BW were selected. QUADAS-2 was used to assess the risk of bias. Pooled sensitivity and specificity forest plots were calculated, summary receiver operator characteristics (SROC) curves were constructed. The certainty of the evidence was rated using the GRADE system. SOURCES: Pubmed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Scopus, Lilacs/BBO and grey literature databases were surveyed. STUDY SELECTION: From 1594 retrieved articles, 13 studies were included. Six studies had a low risk of bias and a low level of concern regarding applicability. Four studies had an unclear risk of bias, while three presented a high risk of bias. The meta-analysis of six studies demonstrated that NILT presented good overall accuracy. Of 6110 teeth, 92.3 % (5639) were accurately classified (776 as true positive and 4863 as true negative). The pooled sensitivity was 0.97 (0.96 to 0.98; p = 0.0000; I2 = 93.2 %) with moderate certainty of evidence, and the pooled specificity was 0.91 (0.91 to 0.92; p = 0.0000; I2 = 98.3 %) with high certainty of evidence. Symmetric (0.9837) and asymmetric (0.9836) SROC showed a high discrimination and determination effect of NILT. CONCLUSION: The current literature, with moderate certainty and a middling quality of evidence, demonstrates that NILT presents a reasonably comparable accuracy to that of BW for detecting interproximal carious lesions in the permanent dentition. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Since NILT presented good overall accuracy for the detection of interproximal primary caries, it could be routinely used in dental check-ups, especially in high-risk caries populations and in patients where the use of radiation should be reduced, like pregnant women or children.

Clinical efficacy of nano-hydroxyapatite in dentin hypersensitivity: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the desensitizing effect of nano-hydroxyapatite (n-HAP) on dentine hypersensitivity (DH). SOURCES: Seven electronic databases were searched on April 27, 2018. STUDY SELECTION: Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) were included based on the PICO strategy: Participants - Humans with DH; Intervention - n-HAP-containing desensitizing; Comparison -n-HAP-free treatments or placebo/negative control; and Outcomes - relief of DH. The risk of bias was classified by the Cochrane guidelines. Five meta-analyses were performed to evaluate the efficacy of n-HAP with regard to pain assessment stimuli (primary outcome); comparison of n-HAP with other treatments or placebo/negative control, and effectiveness of at-home and in-office n-HAP use (secondary outcomes). The quality of the evidence was evaluated using the GRADE. DATA: Six RCTs with 4 weeks of follow-up were included in the meta-analysis. For the primary outcome, n-HAP showed a better desensitizing effect for evaporative stimuli (SMD -1.09 [-1.24, -0.94], p < 0.00001) and tactile stimuli (SMD -0.93 [-1.42, -0.43]) than other treatments (p = 0.0002). However, there was no difference between n-HAP and other treatments for the cold stimuli (SMD -0.17 [-0.81, 0.48], p = 0.61). In an overall analysis, n-HAP-containing treatment showing the most significant desensitizing effect (SMD -0.93 [-1.19, -0.68], p < 0.00001) with a high quality of evidence for pooled results. In the secondary outcomes, n-HAP showed the best effect in the overall analysis (p < 0.05) with moderate quality evidence. CONCLUSIONS: The n-HAP-containing treatment showed better clinical performance than other treatments for DH relief. However, long-term follow-up RCTs are required in the future before definitive recommendations can be made. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Dentin hypersensitivity is a common global condition and its multifactorial etiology has led to the development of several treatments. The n-HAP-containing treatment showed greater DH relief when compared to other desensitizing agents, placebo or negative control.