CLINICAL EVALUATION OF THE HEALING PROCESS OF ORAL SOFT TISSUE SURGICAL WOUNDS STIMULATED BY LOW-LEVEL LASER THERAPY

During the past decades laser therapy gained much popularity in clinical practice. Low-level lasers offer alternative solutions to numerous problems in oral surgery. Purpose: The purpose of the present study is to evaluate clinically the healing process of soft tissue surgical wounds in the oral cavity stimulated by low-level laser therapy (LLLT). Materials and methods: One hundred and twenty surgical wounds were assigned to three groups: Group I included 40 patients who underwent red spectrum LLLT with wavelength (λ) of 658 nm; Group ²² – 40 patients treated with infra-red LLLT with λ of 904 nm; Group ²²² (control group) - 40 patients without LLLT. In Group ² and ²² the LLLT procedures were applied 1 day before, in the day of and 1 day after the operation. Distant emission with a focused beam through an angled conical probe 3 mm in diameter (3mm) was used. The irradiated area is 0,5 cm 2 . The area of impact is the surgical wound zone and the neighboring 0,5-1,0 cm of the adjacent oral mucosa. Results and discussion: The evaluation of the healing process included the following criteria: pain, edema, hyperemia, time for wound closure, postoperative complications. Conclusions: LLLT applied with the offered treatment modality accelerates the healing process of soft tissue surgical wounds in the oral cavity, reduces treatment time and restores patients’ comfort