Effect of laser therapy combined with biomaterials for treatment of periodontal bone defects

Abstract

Objective: Evidence has shown that laser therapy can have a positive effect on the regeneration of periodontal tissues and improve the postoperative period through its antiinflammatory properties. The aim of the present review was to assess the effects of low-level and high-level laser in combination with different biomaterials on the regeneration of periodontal tissues in infrabony defects and furcation lesions. Materials and Methods: An electronic search of the PubMed database was performed, using ten specific descriptors. The search strategy gave 232 papers, 45 of which were initially selected based on the title, and following the reading of the abstracts, six of them were selected. After a complete reading of the texts, two papers were excluded for not fulfilling the inclusion criteria. Results: Thus, four papers were included in the present review, two of which employed low-level laser and two employed high-level laser in combination with enamel matrix derivative and bioactive glass. Non-significant results were found in the comparison of irradiated and non-irradiated groups using high-level laser, whereas statistically significant differences favoring the irradiated group were found with the use of low-level laser. Conclusions: Based on the data analyzed, low-level laser therapy has a positive effect on the regeneration of periodontal tissues, while high-level laser seems not to enhance the effect of enamel matrix derivative in the regeneration process.^ien