Effect of CO₂ laser irradiation on wound healing of exposed rat pulp

This study examined the effects of direct pulp capping treatment using super-pulsed CO₂ laser preirradiation on the wound healing process of exposed rat pulp on days 1, 3, 7, 14, and 28 postoperatively. Group 1 was irradiated with a CO₂ laser and directly capped with a self-etching adhesive system. The laser was operated in super-pulse mode (pulse duration, 200 μs; interval, 5800 μs; 0.003 J/pulse). The irradiation conditions were a power output of 0.5 W, an irradiation time of 3 s, and repeat mode (10 ms of irradiation at 10-ms intervals for a total beam exposure time of 1.5 s), defocused beam diameter of 0.74 mm (approximately 20 mm from the exposed pulp surface), energy density of 0.698 J/cm² per pulse, total applied energy of 0.75 J, and an activated air-cooling system. Group 2 was capped with the self-etching adhesive system. Group 3 was capped with commercially available calcium hydroxide, and the self-etching adhesive system was applied to the cavity. The following parameters were evaluated: pulp tissue disorganization, inflammatory cell infiltration, reparative dentin formation, and bacterial penetration. The results were statistically analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis test for differences among the groups at each observation period (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences among the experimental groups in any parameters at any postoperative period (P > 0.05). CO₂ laser irradiation was effective in arresting hemorrhaging but showed a tendency to delay reparative dentin formation compared with the application of calcium hydroxide.