Low-level Laser Therapy in the Management of Oral Mucositis Induced by Radiotherapy: A Randomized Double-blind Clinical Trial.

AIM: The present study evaluated the effect of LLLT at red and infrared wavelengths associated with therapeutic measures from the Mucositis Study Group of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care of Cancer and International Society of Oral Oncology (MASCC/ISOO) for preventing and treating RT-induced oral mucositis (OM). MATERIALS AND METHODS: For the study, 80 subjects diagnosed with head and neck cancer (HNC) undergoing treatment were randomized into three groups to apply different photobiomodulation protocols for 42 days, as follows: Group I-LLLT of 660 nm; Group II-LLLT of 810 nm; and Group III-association of wavelengths of 660 and 810 nm. The treatments were performed by properly trained professionals and with equipment calibrated for the intervention. RESULTS: Different OM scores were noted for the groups studied, and the third group had lower scores than Groups I and II (p = 0.012). No difference was noted in the pain score analyzing the groups (p = 0.49). CONCLUSION: The LLLT was effective for OM lesions in individuals treated with radiotherapy associated or not with chemotherapy. When combined, the red and infrared lasers reduce OM scores. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: OM is one of the main adverse effects of antineoplastic therapy in head and neck cancer patients. The evidence supporting the validity of LLLT for OM can improve patients' quality of life.

Influence of ultrasonic activation in association with different final irrigants on intracanal smear layer removal

Aim: To evaluate the influence of ultrasonic activation (US) with different irrigant regimens in smearlayer removal. Methods: One hundred bovine incisors were instrumented and divided into tengroups (n=10) according to final irrigation protocols: distilled water (DW); DW+US; 17% EDTA;QMix; 10% citric acid; 37% phosphoric acid; 17% EDTA+US; QMix+US; 10% citric acid+US; 37%phosphoric acid+US. The samples were then submitted to scanning electron microscopy where ascore system was used to evaluate the images and effectiveness of proposed treatments. The datawere statistically analyzed by Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests for intergroup comparisonsas well as the Wilcoxon and Friedman tests for intragroup comparisons at 5% significance level.Results: In the cervical third, groups 17% EDTA, QMix, 10% citric acid, 17% EDTA+US, QMix+USand 10% citric acid+US were more effective in smear layer removal (p<0.05); in the middle third,groups 17% EDTA+US and QMix+US were more effective in smear layer removal (p<0.05); in theapical third, groups 17% EDTA,17% EDTA+US and QMix+US were more effective in smear layerremoval (p<0.05). Conclusions: US can aid 17% EDTA and QMix in smear layer removal at themiddle third and QMix at the apical third, contributing to the cleaning of root canal system.