Effect of laser-induced pulpal anesthesia of single-rooted teeth with irreversible pulpitis treated by single-visit root canal therapy - A randomized clinical trial

Aim: The aim of this study was to compare and evaluate the efficacy of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) as an adjunct and intrapulpal anesthesia on intraoperative pain during single-visit root canal treatment in single-rooted teeth with irreversible pulpitis. Methods: Sixty-three patients diagnosed with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis were included in the study. All the patients were infiltrated with 2% lignocaine with 1:80,000 adrenaline before starting the root canal procedure. Intraoperatively, patients who required additional analgesia were randomly divided into three groups: Group 1: Intrapulpal 2% lignocaine as adjunct; Group 2: LLLT for 60 s as adjunct; and Group 3: LLLT for 120 s as adjunct. The pain experienced during and 24 h after the operation was evaluated using a visual analog scale (VAS). The one-way ANOVA was adopted to investigate the significant differences between the three groups. Results: The mean preoperative pain (VAS) scores for all three groups were similar. The mean intraoperative pain after laser application was significantly less as compared to the lignocaine injection group. The postoperative pain after 24 h was significantly less for Group 3 and Group 2 as compared to Group 1. Conclusion: Laser irradiation at 940 nm can dramatically reduce pain both during and after endodontic therapy. Variations in duration may yield results of varying pain intensity. In our study, changing the time duration from 60 to 120 s showed lesser postoperative pain. Laser therapy may be a different aspect in dental treatments in the future, as pain control is a difficult problem in dentistry.