Systemic inflammatory markers following adjunctive Nd:YAG (1064 nm) laser irradiation to step 2 of periodontal therapy: a 12-month, randomized, controlled trial

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to investigate whether the use of adjunctive Nd:YAG (1064 nm) laser irradiation to full-mouth scaling and root planing (FM-SRP) may offer additional benefit in the systemic inflammatory status of the patient, as depicted in a variety of systemic biomarkers over FM-SRP alone, up to 12 months after treatment.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total of 60 otherwise healthy stage III/IV periodontal patients were equally distributed in 3 groups. The control group received FM-SRP. In laser A group, 1 week after FM-SRP, Nd:YAG laser irradiation was delivered in periodontal pockets with PD ≥ 4 mm using specific settings (3 W, 150 mJ, 20 Hz, 100 μs). In laser B group Nd:YAG laser irradiation was delivered twice, 1 week after FM-SRP and 1 week later with different settings compared to laser A (2 W, 200 mJ, 10 Hz, 100 μs).

RESULTS

A significant reduction (p = 0.038) of IL-1β serum levels at the 6-month time point was observed for laser A group. IL-6 was found statistically significantly increased (p = 0.011) in the control group at the 6-week time point, whereas no difference was reported for the laser-treated groups (laser A, laser B).

CONCLUSIONS

The adjunctive use of Nd:YAG laser irradiation, prevented from IL-6 increase after FM-SRP, 6 weeks after treatment. Similarly, Nd:YAG laser irradiation (3 W, 150 mJ, 20 Hz,100 μs) was associated with significantly lower IL-1β levels, 6 months post-operatively.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

Additional Nd:YAG laser application to FM-SRP may provide a potential beneficial effect on systemic inflammation.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

ISRCTN26692900.

REGISTRATION DATE

09/06/2022.

Effect of Nd: YAG laser irradiation to the temporomandibular joint on taste threshold

Background/purpose

The tissue absorption laser has been clinically applied to alleviate pain in various areas. It is used for pain relief from temporomandibular disease (TMD) in dentistry. Although the facial and trigeminal nerves are distributed around the temporomandibular joint, the effects of laser irradiation and absorption on the neural functions have not been directly studied. In this study, the Nd:YAG laser was applied to an area where the facial nerve passes with photonic radiation for the treatment of TMD.

Materials and methods

Ten volunteers including seven males and three females were selected as subjects. Nd:YAG laser was irradiated area included several internal and external standard and associated acupuncture points. The chorda tympani nerve, a branch of facial nerve is distributed to the front two thirds of the tongue and is associated with the sense of taste. We evaluated the effect of laser irradiation and absorption on the taste function by means of an electric taste meter.

Results

No significant difference was identified in the values between before and after laser irradiation (Wilcoxon signed-rank test).

Conclusion

It was confirmed that there was no effect on taste function while applying Nd:YAG laser irradiation around the TMD joint.

Optical properties of polyvinyl alcohol film irradiated with Nd:YAG laser

Casting solution method has been used to prepare Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) film. The prepared film has been irradiated with a laser beam of 6ns Q-switched Nd:YAG laser (Lotus II) operating at 10Hz and fourth harmonic wavelength, 266nm, at different irradiation times. Optical absorbance of the irradiated sample was studied in the wavelength region between 200 and 800nm. The absorption peak shift of 272nm towards the longer wavelengths region and the increase of absorption as the irradiation time increases, are related to the increase in crosslinking network. The fitting technique of the absorbance revealed an indirect allowed transition with optical energy gap of 4.22eV for the pristine PVA sample, and 2.85eV after 2h of laser irradiation. The index of refraction and the dielectric function showed dispersion in the studied wavelength range. The analysis of color parameters of PVA showed an observable change after laser irradiation.