A clinical investigation of low level laser irradiation on hypersensitive dentin of the elderly

ZHANG Yi; LIU Xiao-lin; YAN Zhen-mei; LIU Lin

Abstract：Objective: The study was conducted to evaluate the treatment efficacy of low level diode laser for dentin hypersensitivity in the elderly in short time.Methods: Forty-five patients (171 exposed sensitive teeth) with a history of dentin hypersensitivity were selected and randomly divided into 3 groups. In group A , the hypersensitive teeth were desensitized by fluoride varnish.In groups B ,a low levellaserwas used on hypersensitive teeth for60s.In group C ,a low levellaser was used on hypersensitive teeth for 240s.The dentin hypersensitivity of allteeth was measured with VAS.Then the difference value (D1) of the pain score between the justend and before treatment,the difference value (D2) of the pain score between after 1m onth and before treatment and the difference value (D3) of the pain score between after 3m onths and before treatment were calculated respectively. ANOVA was applied to determ ine the differences between groups (P<0.05).Result: After desensitizing procedures,most of the patients reported distinct reductions in dentin sensitivity at the baseline. The statistical analysis revealed statistically no significant differences between each group of D1 and D2; Furthermore,the statistical analysis indicated that there were significant differences between group A and B of D3 and group A and C of D3.Conclusion: The results of the study dem onstrated thatthe low levellaser irradiation was efficientin the treatmentofhypersensitivity ofthe elderly in shorttime.