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Preventive
Background: Studies have shown that fluoride is an essential element in preventive dentistry. However, there are still controversies about the preventive effects of various kinds of laser. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of diode laser irradiation (810 nm) with or without fluoride therapy in the prevention of permanent enamel demineralization.
Methods: Sixty human permanent premolars were randomly assigned to 6 groups: C: received no treatment; F: fluoride varnish application; 2L: 2 times diode laser irradiation; 4L: 4 times diode laser irradiation; F2L: 2 times laser irradiation over fluoride varnish; F4L: 4 times laser irradiation over fluoride varnish. Teeth in all groups were subjected to a pH-cycling process to produce artificial caries-like lesions.
Results: The analysis of variance (ANOVA) of microhardness values indicated a significant effect for laser, fluoride, and the interaction of laser-fluoride on reducing the final microhardness value. A statistically significant prevention in reduction of enamel microhardness was achieved with all treatment groups (P < .001). However, there was no significant difference between combination treatment of laser-fluoride and fluoride treatment. In addition, the different times of laser irradiation did not have any significant effects on the results (P >.05).
Conclusions: Our results suggest that fluoride varnish, diode laser, and their combination decrease the loss of the enamel microhardness value and potentially prevent permanent enamel demineralization. However, the combination of laser and fluoride was not more effective than fluoride.