Effect of Low-power Laser on Treatment of Orofacial Pain

• Main Authors: Hamid Reza Khalighi, Fahimeh Anbari, Jamileh Beygom Taheri, Sedigheh Bakhtiari, Zahra Namazi, Firoz Pouralibaba
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Tabriz University of Medical Sciences 2010-09-01
• Series: Journal of Dental Research, Dental Clinics, Dental Prospects
• Subjects: Laser; low-power laser; orofacial pain
• Online Access: http://dentistry.tbzmed.ac.ir/joddd/index.php/joddd/article/view/183/154

Low-power lasers are a group of lasers with a power less than 250 mW and unlike high-power lasers they have no effect on tissue temperature; they produce light-dependent chemical reactions in tissues. These lasers have analgesic features with their ability to trigger reactions that reduce pain and inflammatory mediators. Low-power lasers can also be used instead of needles in acupuncture to decrease pain. Due to these features they have been used in the treatment of orofacial pain, including tooth hypersensitivity, post-operative flare-ups, mucositis, facial myalgia, temporomandibular joint disorders and neuralgia. In this article we review the effects of low-power lasers and their success rate in different studies. As the name implies (LASER: Light Amplification by the Stimulated Emission of Radiation), laser amplifies light by stimulated and excited radiation; in other words, it is amplification of excited light emission. Such radiation usually has some characteristic features, including mono-chromaticity, coherency, high intensity and polarity. There are various classifications for lasers based on their active material (solid, fluid and gas), wavelength, emission type and power.