Effect of CO2 Laser Treatment in Hypersensitive Teeth

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to evaluate and compare the desensitizing effects of CO2 laser (Opus Duo, Israel) plus topical Flour gel (L+F) or topical Flour gel (F) alone on cervically exposed hypersensitive dentine. Methods: A group of 28 patients having a total of 328 contralateral pairs of hypersensitive and caries-free teeth was selected and randomly allocated in a splitmouth design to either L+F (1W, CW, 10 sec), or the application of F. The degree of sensitivity to a thermal stimulus was determined with a 3 sec air blast at a distance of 2 mm from each site to be tested. A qualitative registration of the degree of discomfort was determined according to an arbitrary pain scale in 4 degrees. Recordings were assessed before treatment, 1 week and 2 months after treatment. Results: Within each test group there was a significant reduction in hypersensitivity before and 1 week after treatment (p<0.001). However, this significance continued only for L+F group at 2 months (p<0.001) and stayed nearly unchanged for F group. Inter group comparison revealed a significant difference in both evaluation periods (p<0.001). L+F group showed significantly better results than F group. Conclusions: It was concluded that desensitization of hypersensitive teeth with L+F was effective and the maintanence of positive results was more prolonged. In order to verify the long term effectiveness of L+F treatment, further long term studies are needed.