Effect of selective caries removal and photobiomodulation on postoperative sensitivity in deep cavities: randomized...

This randomized clinical trial aimed to evaluate the effect of selective caries removal in deep Class I cavities in posterior teeth followed or not by photobiomodulation (PBM) therapy at two different wavelengths on postoperative sensitivity. Baseline spontaneous and stimulated sensitivity scores of 33 vital permanent molars were determined by the participants using a numeric rating scale. The teeth had their affected dentine preserved and were randomly allocated into three groups (n = 11): selective removal of infected dentine (control), selective removal of infected dentine followed by infrared (IR; 810 nm) or red (R; 660 nm) laser irradiation. The teeth were restored with a two-step self-etch adhesive and nanoparticle composite layers, and followed by laser irradiation only for IR and R groups. Both spontaneous and stimulated sensitivity were recorded after 12 h, 7 days, and 14 days. Data were statistically analyzed by Kruskal-Wallis, Friedman, and Wilcoxon tests (p < 0.05). The pulp of all teeth positively responded to cold a stimulus. The control group presented a significant increase in spontaneous sensitivity at 12 h (p < 0.05), which decreased to the preoperative level after 14 days. In both IR and R groups, the sensitivity levels remained stable over time (p > 0.05). At both 7- and 14-day follow-ups, the spontaneous sensitivity for the IR group was significantly lower than the other groups (p < 0.05). In addition to preserving tooth sensitivity, selective deep caries removal can be associated with R or IR to respectively attenuate or completely resolve postoperative sensitivity within one week.