Laser for bone healing after oral surgery: systematic review

Area of Science:

• Oral Surgery
• Biomedical Engineering
• Regenerative Medicine

Background:

• Bone healing is crucial after oral surgery.
• Optimizing bone regeneration can improve patient outcomes.
• Laser technology presents a potential therapeutic modality.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review the efficacy of lasers in enhancing bone healing post-oral surgery.
• To synthesize evidence on laser application parameters and outcomes.
• To assess the quality of existing research on this topic.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review of articles from PubMed, Web of Science, and OpenGray.
• PICO question: "Does the use of lasers after oral surgery improve bone healing?"
• Inclusion criteria focused on laser use, bone healing evaluation, and oral surgery, excluding specific conditions and study types.

Main Results:

• Eleven studies met eligibility criteria, primarily in vivo and focused on jaw bone.
• Low-power lasers applied post-extraction showed a tendency to increase bone density, neoformation, and regeneration.
• Risk of bias assessment indicated unclear reporting across most parameters.

Conclusions:

• Low-power laser therapy shows potential for reducing bone healing time in oral surgery.
• Current evidence is limited by a weak level of evidence and lack of standardized protocols.
• Further high-quality research is needed to establish definitive protocols and confirm efficacy.