Painless injections–a possibility with low level laser therapy

Abstract

Background Dental procedures commonly involve the injection of local anesthetic agents, which causes apprehension in patients. The objective of dental practice is to provide painless treatment to the patient. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) in reducing the pain due to local anesthetic injection. Materials and Methods A prospective, split-mouth study was conducted on 25 patients. In Condition A, LLLT was administered followed by the administration of a standard local anesthetic agent. Patients' perception of pain with use of LLLT was assessed based on a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). In Condition B, LLLT was directed to the mucosa but not activated, followed by the administration of local anesthesia. VAS was used to assess the pain level without the use of LLLT. Results Comparison between Condition A and Condition B was done. A P value < 0.001 was considered significant, indicating a definite statistical difference between the two conditions. Conclusion In our study, we observed that LLLT reduced pain during injection of local anesthesia. Further multi-centric studies with a larger sample size and various modifications in the study design are required.

Effects of low level laser therapy on injection pain and anesthesia efficacy during local anesthesia in children: A randomized clinical trial

“…Similarly, Tuk et al 13 evaluated pre‐injection analgesic effects of LLLT (wavelength—810 nm; continuous mode, output power—198 mW; energy—5.94 J) in patients undergoing third molar removal and reported that LLLT was not effective in decreasing the pain felt during the administration of the local anesthetic injections. On the contrary, Jagtap et al 14 (wavelength—660nm; output power—0.6 W; 3 min) and Ghabraei et al 15 (wavelength—980nm; contact mode, output power—0.3 W; 20 s; 15.62 J/cm 2 ; 0.384 cm 2 focal spot area; energy—6 J) concluded that LLLT before the injection of local anesthesia reduced injection pain in adults. There are many parameters that determine the effect of LLLT, and thus, the differences in these parameters make it challenging to compare across studies.…”

“…Moreover, considering the pain-reducing effect of LLLT still being investigated, some of the studies combined topical anesthesia with LLLT, 12 whereas some did not use topical anesthesia but used the low-intensity laser therapy solely. 7,14 Therefore, there are contradictory results in the literature. Since the present study included paediatric patients, topical anesthesia and LLLT were used together.…”

“…Also, studies do not report on these parameters consistently, which makes comparisons difficult. Moreover, considering the pain‐reducing effect of LLLT still being investigated, some of the studies combined topical anesthesia with LLLT, 12 whereas some did not use topical anesthesia but used the low‐intensity laser therapy solely 7,14 . Therefore, there are contradictory results in the literature.…”

“…4,6 Considering the effects of LLLT on microcirculation reported by various researchers in the literature, [8][9][10] it is thought that improvements in local circulation and increased vasodilation may increase the absorption of the local anesthetic agent. 6,11 The use of LLLT to reduce injection-related pain is reported in a limited number of studies in adult patients, 7,[12][13][14][15] but consistent results have not been obtained with these studies due to different clinical effects of changing laser parameters. In other words, there is no consensus on ideal laser parameters.…”

“…The use of LLLT to reduce injection‐related pain is reported in a limited number of studies in adult patients, 7,12‐15 but consistent results have not been obtained with these studies due to different clinical effects of changing laser parameters. In other words, there is no consensus on ideal laser parameters.…”