Page 43 - Demo

Analgesic effects of preinjection low-level laser/light therapy413IntroductionSuccessful oral surgery requires the use of local anesthesia, such as mandibular block or local infiltration anesthesia.1–3 However, these procedures have the drawback of inducing pain upon injection. In particular, patients who fear dental treatment commonly perceive the insertion of the needle as a painful experience, and the fear of dentistry-associated pain is closely associated with the intraoral administration of local anesthetics.4 Numerous factors reportedly influence the pain of injection, including injection speed, needle size, needle insertion, needle placement, type of anesthetic fluid, volume of injected anesthetic fluid, injection pressure, the experience of the performer (dentist), and individual patient characteristics.5During a dental injection, highly anxious patients experience greater pain and for a longer duration.6 Clinical studies demonstrate that anxiety regarding dental injections and pain can be intense enough to necessitate alternative techniques or pretreatment strategies.7 Several methods have been tested to reduce pain during injection of local anesthetics, including topical anesthetic creams or sprays.8 One study reports that local application of ice to dull the pain of needle insertion into mucosa provided effective pain reduction, and took less time and was easier to apply when compared to a eutectic mixture of local anesthetic creams.9Low-level laser/light therapy (LLLT), also referred to as photobiomodulation therapy, could be another potentially useful approach to improve the overall experience for patients undergoing dental injections. Following oral surgery, successful analgesia can reportedly be achieved using LLLT with all main wavelengths from 632-904 nm.10 LLLT involves the projection of low-power laser light (i.e., not a heat-based ablating laser) into the designated target of interest, producing an analgesic effect.11 Several beneficial biological effects of LLLT have been reported, including photobiomodulation of cellular proliferation, improved tissue metabolism, and reduced oxidant radical formation.12–15Pain responses occur due to nociceptor membrane depolarization, upon which the ascending sensory nerve transfers information to the spinal column and