title: Lasers for the treatment of dentin hypersensitivity: a meta-analysis.
abstract: This systematic review and meta-analysis assessed the efficacy of lasers in reducing dentin hypersensitivity (DH) as compared with placebo or no treatment. Seven electronic databases and a manual search resulted in 2,538 unique publications. After selection, 13 studies were included in the meta-analysis. A CONSORT-based quality assessment revealed that 3 and 10 studies were at low and high risk of bias, respectively. A random-effects model with the generic inverse variance standardized mean difference (SMD) was used because of expected heterogeneity. Meta-analyses of the baseline-end of follow-up changes in pain revealed no differences for Er,Cr:YSSG vs. placebo (SMD = 2.49; 95% CI, -0.25 to 5.22; p = .07) but did reveal differences in favor of lasers for Er:YAG vs. placebo (SMD, 2.65; 95% CI, 1.25 to 4.05; p = .0002), Nd:YAG vs. placebo (SMD, 3.59; 95% CI, 0.49 to 6.69; p = .02), and GaAlAs vs. placebo (SMD, 3.40; 95% CI, 1.93 to 4.87; p < .00001). High and significant heterogeneity was found for all comparisons. In conclusion, Er:YAG, Nd:YAG, and GaAlAs lasers appear to be efficacious in reducing DH. However, given the high heterogeneity of the included studies, future randomized controlled clinical trials are needed to confirm these results.
authors.affiliation: Department of Life, Health, and Environmental Sciences, School of Dentistry, University of L'Aquila, Italy. fabrizio.sgolastra@gmail.com
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sgolastra
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Petrucci
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Severino
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gatto
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Monaco
mesh_terms: D003807:Dentin Sensitivity / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D006801:Humans; D054023:Lasers, Semiconductor / Q000627:therapeutic use; D053844:Lasers, Solid-State / Q000627:therapeutic use; D028022:Low-Level Light Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010919:Placebos; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D010919:Placebos
keywords: dentin sensitivity; dentin-desensitizing agents; laser semiconductor; low-level laser therapy; review; solid-state lasers