Clinical and scanning electron microscopy evaluation of the Er,Cr:YSGG laser therapy for treating dentine hypersensitivity: short‐term, randomised, controlled study

Abstract

Er,Cr:YSGG laser is a rising treatment option for dentine hypersensitivity (DH). However, there is no data available concerning the scanning electron microscope (SEM) evaluation of the clinical application of Er,Cr:YSGG laser in the treatment of DH. The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the desensitising and tubule occlusion effects of Er,Cr:YSGG laser with different power settings. Twenty patients (60 teeth) participated in this study. For each patient, teeth were randomised to 3 groups. In groups 1 and 2, patients were treated with Er,Cr:YSGG laser at 0.25 and 0.5 W, respectively. In control group, same laser was applied without laser emission. DH was assessed for all groups with a visual analogue scale (VAS). When compared with the baseline data and control group, in both active treatment groups laser irradiation provided a desensitising effect immediately after treatment (P < 0.001). In group 2, VAS scores were significantly lower than group 1. The tubule diameters in the both laser groups were significantly smaller than the control group (P < 0.01). When group 1 compared with group 2, group 2 showed significantly smaller tubule diameters (P < 0.001). Both 0.25 and 0.5 W laser irradiation were effective for the treatment of DH; however, 0.5 W laser irradiation showed best results for the decrease in VAS scores. The SEM findings of the reduction in number/patency of dentine tubules seem to be related to the clinical findings, which were associated with improvement in treatment efficacy.

Laser therapy versus topical desensitising agents in the management of dentine hypersensitivity: A meta‐analysis

“…The lasers for treating DH mainly include He‐Ne, GaAlAs diode, Nd:YAG, Er:YAG and CO 2 lasers, with effectiveness varying from 5.2% to 100% (Kimura, Wilder‐Smith, Yonaga, & Matsumoto, 2000). Several clinical studies have evaluated the effect of lasers for treatment of DH (Aranha & Eduardo Cde, 2012; Yilmaz & Bayindir, 2014; Yilmaz, Kurtulmus‐Yilmaz, Cengiz, Bayindir, & Aykac, 2011), whilst some of the results from these studies are equivocal and do not seem to justify the high expenditure of the equipment for this purpose (West, 2010). The evidence on the effects of lasers versus topical desensitising agents is inconclusive.…”

Phototherapy Using Er,Cr:YSGG Laser as a Definitive Treatment for Dentin Hypersensitivity: A Systematic Review

“…The follow-up assessments were conducted ranging from immediately to 3 months after treatment. Five of the studies 17 , 20 , 22 , 24 , 25 reported no relevant adverse events after laser application. The other two studies, 21 , 23 no information was disclosed about the occurrence of any adverse events.…”

“…Table 1 presents the general characteristics of all RCTs included. Three studies were conducted in the United States, 17 , 22 , 25 2 studies were conducted in Iran, 20 , 23 1 study was performed in Brazil 21 and 1 study was performed in Turkey. 24 Studies included in this review compared one type of laser with a placebo, another desensitizing agent or another type of laser.…”

“…All publications were in English ( Table 1 ). Four of the included studies 20 , 21 , 23 , 24 followed a parallel study design, and the other three 17 , 22 , 25 adopted a split mouth design. All of the studies were conducted at a university.…”

The Effect of Toothpastes Containing Hydroxyapatite, Fluoroapatite, and Zn-Mg-hydroxyapatite Nanocrystals on Dentin Hypersensitivity

“…Dentinal tubules diameter has been shown to correlate with DH. [ 31 32 33 ] In a study by Yilmaz et al ,[ 34 ] the clinical desensitizing effect was related to the reduction in the number/patency of dentin tubules observed using SEM. On the basis of previous research, Esposti et al [ 11 ] assumed that the desensitizing clinical effect exerted by the toothpaste corresponds to the degree of dentinal tubules occlusion.…”