Background. Laser protocols for the treatment of dentin hypersensitivity (DH) have not yet been studied systematically.Objectives. The present study aimed to review clinical trials on the treatment of DH with laser therapy through a systematic review and meta-analysis. Material and methods.The search of electronic databases resulted in 562 publications up to April 2020. The inclusion criteria were studies carried out on humans and reporting on the treatment of DH with laser therapy. Case reports, literature reviews and systematic reviews were excluded. Selected by abstract, potentially eligible papers were read in full (n = 160). Independent examiners performed data extraction and the assessment of the risk of bias.Results. A total of 34 studies were included in the analysis, and 11 in the quantitative analysis. It was observed that most studies followed up patients for a maximum of 6 months (55%). Through the meta-analysis, we observed statistically significant differences between the average pain before and after 3 months of treatment with high-and low-power lasers. However, through indirect comparisons, it was observed that the high-power laser showed a greater tendency to reduce the pain levels after 3 months of treatment as compared to the low-power laser, but without a statistically significant difference.Conclusions. It was possible to conclude that regardless of the type of laser used in the treatment of DH, this treatment is an effective option for the control of pain symptoms. However, it was not possible to establish a defined treatment protocol, since the evaluation methods are very different from each other.Text for Rewiew and clinical cases.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to perform a scoping review to systematically map the research done in the role of epigenetic factors on enamel development. Methods: Articles that reported relevant data among the role of epigenetics on enamel development/formation or enamel defects were selected. The data from the included studies were compiled and organized. The search strategy retrieved a total of 263 titles and abstract. Upon exclusion, only 53 articles were eligible for full article assessment. Results: After the selection process, only 12 articles were included in the scoping review. The first studies were published in 2010, while the most recent studies were published in 2021. The studies have different aims and designs and none of them evaluated human population. Conclusion: Future studies in this subject are recommended to unravel the role of epigenetic factors in normal and abnormal enamel development as well as in the development enamel defect.

Background: Nowadays, observed a growing rate of teeth affected by molar incisor hypomineralization (MIH). These teeth can present persistent inflammation of the pulp, increasing the dentin hypersensitivity and consequently, directly affecting the cleaning of the affected tooth and contributing to the progression of caries lesions. Aims: This study aims to compare the use of diode laser (DL) irradiation (970nm) with the application of a glass ionomer-based sealant (GIC) for the most clinically and cost-effective strategy for the management of first permanent molars affected with MIH. Methods: This is a two-arm, parallel-group, patient randomized superiority-controlled trial, children present MIH molars will be selected and treated either with the application of DL or with the application of GIC-based sealants. Baseline and follow-up evaluations will be assessed through clinical examination and analysis of dental impressions that will be carried out of the affected teeth. The outcomes evaluated will be: 1) presence of post-eruptive breakdown and/or atypical dentin caries lesions, 2) retention rate of sealants 3) parent’s satisfaction, 4) children’s hypersensitivity 5) child-self-reported discomfort 6) impact on the quality of life and 7) the incremental cost-effectiveness. Evaluations will be performed by one trained evaluator after one week, and 1, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months. Multilevel statistical analyzes will be conducted to establish the ability of DL treatment compared to sealing, in joining to plausible factors associated with this efficacy. Discussion: We expect that this study contributes to the best scientific proof concerning the most cost-effective treatment for permanent molars affected with MIH.