Effect of Lasers on Dentine Hypersensitivity: Evidence From a Meta-analysis

The aim of the study was to evaluate the immediate and long-term desensitizing effect of lasers in reducing dentine hypersensitivity (DH) compared with negative controls.

Six databases were searched to identify relevant articles published up to June 8, 2018. Randomized controlled trials comparing lasers with placebo or no treatment control in adult patients who suffer from DH were included. The risk of bias was assessed according to the Cochrane guidelines, and the quality of the evidence was evaluated using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation tool. Inverse-variance random effects meta-analyses of standardized mean differences and 95% confidence intervals were performed using the RevMan 5.3 software.

Twenty-two randomized controlled trials were finally included in the meta-analysis, and 21 studies of these were conducted to analyze the immediate and long-term effects. All types of lasers had better immediate and long-term desensitizing effects on DH than negative controls. The quality of evidence of the included studies showed that lasers compared with negative controls had moderate-quality immediate and long-term effects on DH. The statistical heterogeneity of these comparisons was high, for which the result of I² ranged from 90% to 98%.

Our results indicate that all types of lasers had a better desensitizing effect on DH than negative controls, both in immediate and long term. Furthermore, more high-quality studies with a large sample size are needed to confirm our results (PROSPERO CRD42018102260).