Does the use of lasers as an adjunct to conventional endodontic treatment yield better results than conventional treatment alone? an overview of systematic reviews

Abstract

The goal of endodontic treatment is to eliminate microbial infection and diseased dental pulp tissue residue from inside the root canals. This is routinely accomplished by mechanical preparation and chemical irrigation. However, the complex anatomy of the root canal system poses as a challenge for complete microbial debridement. Lasers were therefore introduced as an adjunct to chemo-mechanical root canal preparation to overcome the problems of disinfection inside root canals and to improve the success of root canal treatments. Aim: To determine if the use of lasers as an adjunct to conventional root canal treatment yields better results than conventional root canal treatment alone. Objectives: To conduct a scoping review to map the literature on the use of lasers in endodontic treatments. The next objective is to conduct an overview of systematic reviews on whether the use of lasers as an adjunct to conventional root canal treatment yields better results than conventional treatment alone. Methodology: A scoping review of the existing literature was conducted. Arksey and O’Malley’s 6-step framework for conducting scoping reviews was utilised. The overview of systematic reviews involved using the AMSTAR 2 checklist for critical appraisal of articles meeting the inclusion criteria to determine the methodological quality of the systematic review articles on the use of lasers as an adjunct to conventional root canal treatment. For both objectives, the searches extended to electronic databases including Google Scholar, PubMed, ScienceDirect, Wiley Online Library along with international conference presentations and international endodontic journals. The reference lists of included studies were searched for further studies that may not have been retrieved during the initial database searches. The searches were limited to the English language and restricted to the last 10- years.