Hamid Reza Khalighi
1, Fahimeh Anbari
2, Jamileh Beygom Taheri
3*, Sedigheh Bakhtiari
4, Zahra Namazi
5, Firoz Pouralibaba
61 Assistant Professor, Department of Oral Medicine, Faculty of Dentistry, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
2 Postgraduate Student, Department of Oral Medicine, Faculty of Dentistry, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
3 Associate Professor, Department of Oral Medicine, Faculty of Dentistry, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
4 Assistant Professor, Department of Oral Medicine, Faculty of Dentistry, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
5 Dentist, Private Practice, Tehran, Iran
6 Assistant Professor, Department of Oral Medicine, Faculty of Dentistry, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
Abstract
Low-power lasers are a group of lasers with a power less than 250 mW and unlike high-power lasers they have no effect on
tissue temperature; they produce light-dependent chemical reactions in tissues. These lasers have analgesic features with
their ability to trigger reactions that reduce pain and inflammatory mediators. Low-power lasers can also be used instead of
needles in acupuncture to decrease pain. Due to these features they have been used in the treatment of orofacial pain, including
tooth hypersensitivity, post-operative flare-ups, mucositis, facial myalgia, temporomandibular joint disorders and neuralgia.
In this article we review the effects of low-power lasers and their success rate in different studies. As the name implies
(LASER: Light Amplification by the Stimulated Emission of Radiation), laser amplifies light by stimulated and excited
radiation; in other words, it is amplification of excited light emission. Such radiation usually has some characteristic
features, including mono-chromaticity, coherency, high intensity and polarity. There are various classifications for lasers
based on their active material (solid, fluid and gas), wavelength, emission type and power.