Efficacy of lasers as an adjunct to chemo‐mechanical disinfection of infected root canals: a systematic review

Abstract

The aim was to evaluate the efficacy of various types of lasers used as an adjunct to chemo-mechanical disinfection of infected root canals with the outcome measures 'normal periapical condition' or 'reduction of microbial load'. PubMed, CENTRAL and ISI Web of Knowledge literature searches with specific indexing terms and a subsequent hand search were made with stated limits and criteria. Relevant publications were retrieved, followed by interpretation. The quality of each included publication was assessed as high, moderate or low. The initial search process yielded 234 publications. All abstracts of these publications were read, and the reference lists of relevant publications were hand-searched. Ten articles were read in full text and interpreted according to a data extraction form. Five were included in the systematic review and were assessed. A meta-analysis was impossible to perform because the included studies were heterogeneous with regard to study design, treatment and outcome measures. Positive effects were reported; however, no concluding evidence grade could be made because each included study was judged to have low quality, primarily due to lack of a power analysis, blinding and reproducibility. The evidence grade for whether lasers can be recommended as an adjunct to chemo-mechanical disinfection of infected root canals was insufficient. This does not necessarily imply that laser should not be used as an adjunct to root canal treatment but instead underscores the need for future high-quality studies.