Periodontal disease is a prevalent condition in companion animals. It is crucial to prevent the plaque and bacteria on tooth surfaces to avoid gingivitis and the more harmful periodontitis. The aim of the present study was to assess the impact of MLS laser treatment on the bacterial load by analyzing the gingival swabs of a total of 16 owned dogs with no history of dental disease that were selected from a cohort of patients admitted for plaque removal and dental hygiene procedures. Following each dental hygiene session, each dog received a single MLS laser therapy treatment (808–905 nm diode laser, frequency 36 Hz, and fluence 0.16 J/cm2). Swabs were collected from the two upper premolars before and after the laser treatment. These were submitted for mesophilic bacteria counts, and microbiological analysis was conducted on 10 positive cultures to evaluate the changes in the oral bacterial microbiota. MLS laser therapy statistically significantly reduced the mesophilic bacteria count by 1 log, with higher pre-laser treatment counts (n = 0.44; 5.77 ± 0.21 95%CI) in comparison to post-laser treatment counts (n = 0.73; 4.80 ± 0.346 95%CI). The MLS laser therapy was found to reduce the bacterial load in 80% of the subjects (p < 0.05). No significant differences pre- and post-laser treatment were observed in the bacteria species isolated from the microbiological cultures. MLS laser therapy appears to be a useful, non-invasive method for reducing the bacterial load in the treatment and prophylaxis of periodontal disease in dogs.
Pallante et al. (Sat,) studied this question.