Effect of 810-nm Diode Laser on Reducing Dentinal Hypersensitivity after Periodontal Treatment

Objectives: The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of 810-nm diode laser on reducing dentinal hypersensitivity (DH).
Methods: In the preclinical study, ten dentin blocks which were obtained from sectioning horizontally five intact human molar teeth were analyzed by a scanning electron microscope (SEM) before and after 810-nm diode laser irradiation. The clinical investigation included forty-five teeth from thirteen patients who had at least one tooth in different quadrants with visual analog scale (VAS) ≧ 3 upon cold stimulation test. The offending teeth were randomly assigned to the fluoride varnish group and the diode laser group. The assessments of the extent of DH ware carried out at the baseline and 15 minutes, 1 day, 7 days, 14 days, 1 month, 2 months, and 3 months after the desensitizing treatment.
Results: The preclinical study showed both the diameter and the surface area of the dentinal tubules were significantly reduced after diode laser irradiation (p<0.01 and p<0.05, respectively). In the clinical investigation, the degree of DH generally reduced in both groups after desensitizing treatment. While the change of VAS was not significant in the fluoride varnish group, the diode laser group showed significant improvement of DH over 3 months. The reduction of VAS was significantly greater in the diode laser group than in the fluoride varnish group at days 7 and 14 (both p-values<0.05).
Conclusions: The 810-nm diode laser is capable of narrowing the diameter of dentinal tubules and showed clinical effectiveness on reducing DH over 3 months.