Treatment of dentin hypersensitivity with a low-level laser-emitting toothbrush: double-blind randomised clinical trial of efficacy and safety

Dentin hypersensitivity (DH) is defined as pain derived from exposed dentin in response to chemical, thermal, tactile, or osmotic stimuli that cannot be explained as having arisen from any other dental defect or disease. The aim of this trial was to test the efficacy and the safety of a low-level laser-emitting toothbrush on management of DH. A prospective, double blind, randomised clinical trial was designed; 96 individuals with hypersensitive teeth without caries or fracture were selected as subjects. The subjects were randomly allocated to either the test group with the 635 nm per 6 mW laser-emitting toothbrush, or the control group with the 635 nm per 12.9 μW light-emitting diode (LED) toothbrush. An air blast was applied with a dental air syringe held 3 mm away from the selected tooth and a visual analogue scale (VAS: 0-10) was used to quantify subjective pain. Assessments were completed at a screening visit and after 2-week and 4-week of using a test/control toothbrush. Results demonstrated that the use of both control and test toothbrushes resulted in decreased discomfort after 4 weeks. In the test group, pain intensity scores decreased from 5.8 ± 1.2 to 2.3 ± 1.6, and in the control group, the scores decreased from 6.4 ± 1.3 to 5.5 ± 2.0 (P < 0.05). This decrease was significantly greater in the test group. There were no significant adverse events or side effects. It was concluded that the use of the low-level laser emitting toothbrush is a safe and effective treatment option for the management of DH.