title: Role of laser irradiation in direct pulp capping procedures: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
abstract: A variety of materials are available to treat exposed dental pulp by direct pulp capping. The healing response of the pulp is crucial to form a dentin bridge and seal off the exposed pulp. Studies have used lasers to stimulate the exposed pulp to form tertiary dentin. The aim of the present systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate the evidence on the effects of laser irradiation as an adjunctive therapy to stimulate healing after pulp exposure. A systematic literature search was conducted up to April 2016. A structured search using the keywords "Direct pulp capping," "Lasers," "Calcium hydroxide pulp capping," and "Resin pulp capping" was performed. Initially, 34 potentially relevant articles were identified. After removal of duplicates and screening by title, abstract, and full text when necessary, nine studies were included. Studies were assessed for bias and data were synthetized using a random-effects meta-analysis model. Six studies were clinical, and three were preclinical animal trials; the follow-up period ranged from 2 weeks to 54 months. More than two thirds of the included studies showed that laser therapy used as an adjunct for direct pulp capping was more effective in maintaining pulp vitality than conventional therapy alone. Meta-analysis showed that the success rate in the laser treatment group was significantly higher than the control group (log odds ratio = 1.737; 95 % confidence interval, 1.304-2.171). Lasers treatment of exposed pulps can improve the outcome of direct pulp capping procedures; a number of confounding factors may have influenced the outcomes of the included studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Dentistry, Eastman Institute for Oral Health, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA. fawad_javed@urmc.rochester.edu.
authors.forename: Fawad
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9253-1989
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Javed
authors.affiliation: Department of General Dentistry, Eastman Institute for Oral Health, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Sergio Varela
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Kellesarian
authors.affiliation: Department of Prosthetic Dental Science, College of Dentistry, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Tariq
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Abduljabbar
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, Capital College, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Elham
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gholamiazizi
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics and Computational Biology, School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Changyong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: Dental Department, King Khaled University Hospital, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Khaled
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Aldosary
authors.affiliation: Department of Prosthetic Dental Science, College of Dentistry, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Fahim
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Vohra
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Surgery and Implant Dentistry, Dental School, Johann Wolfgang Goethe, University of Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany.|Department of Periodontology, School of Dental Medicine, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Georgios E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Romanos
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D002648:Child; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003785:Dental Pulp Capping / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007834:Lasers; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Calcium hydroxide; Direct pulp capping; Lasers; Resin pulp capping