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Meal Duration as a Measure of Orofacial Nociceptive Responses in Rodents
Published on: January 10, 2014
Effects of low power Er:YAG laser on the tooth pulp-evoked jaw-opening reflex
Jorge L Zeredo1, Katia M Sasaki, Rie Fujiyama
1Division of Integrative Sensory Physiology, Department of Developmental and Reconstructive Medicine, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki 852-8588, Japan. jorge@net.nagasaki-u.ac.jp
Background And Objectives:
Analgesic properties of laser irradiation have been of great interest in the field of dentistry. This study aimed at evaluating the analgesic effects of the Er:YAG laser system in rats during and after laser irradiation.
Study Design/Materials And Methods:
A pulsed Er:YAG laser was applied to the oral mucosa of the mandibular incisor at an energy density of approximately 0.1 J/cm(2)/pulse for 10 minutes at 10 Hz, and the integrated digastric muscle electromyogram in tooth pulp-evoked jaw-opening reflex was used as an index of the nociceptive response.
Results:
Significant reflex suppression was observed 10 minutes after laser irradiation. The reflex amplitude started to return to its original level about 45 minutes after cessation of laser irradiation.
Conclusions:
The Er:YAG laser used at low output levels presented inhibitory effects on the tooth pulp-evoked jaw-opening reflex, suggesting that this laser system may be of use for pain control during various dental treatments.
