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ePaper created 2016-01-08, 09:25:11 | version 1.38.0
I research Fig. 1_From: Karu T. Ten lectures on basic science of laser phototherapy. 2007, Prima Books. _Laser phototherapy has been used in dentistry for several decades. From an initial attitude of in- credulity,thereisanincreasingawarenessoftheuse- fulnessofthistreatmentoption.Manyindicationsare now recognised, such as reduction of inflammation, pain and oedema. Having the known basic mecha- nismsinthecellularenergytransportsysteminmind, the wide variation of suggested applications no longer seems illogical. This article will not linger on whatisalreadyknownandaccepted,butrathermake an effort to look ahead onto the most recent discov- eries. Laser phototherapy (LPT) has been seen as a suitable intervention when some sort of pathology is present in tissue. A modern approach is to recognise the ability to pre-condition tissue even before a trauma such as surgery. This is a bit contrary to what we have learned in the past. It is well known that the best cellular response comes from cells in a reduced environment, i.e. with a low pH. More or less healthy cellswillnotreactmuchtoLPT.Thisisshownintheil- lustration below (Fig. 1). Indeed,researchhasconfirmedthatLPTisnotvery useful in studies where healthy animals or human volunteers have been enrolled. For instance, a model using genetically diabetic animals has demonstrated a very positive effect on wound healing, whereas the same parameters in healthy animals has been mod- est.1 However, the minimal effect of LPT on fairly healthytissuesseemstobeenoughtopreparethetar- get tissues for a surgical intervention, as a way of “pre-conditioning” the area. In fact, this was one of the earliest discoveries in the field. McGuff et al. re- ported already in 1966 that animals exposed to radi- ationdevelopedlesssideeffectsifpre-irradiatedwith LPT.2 This effect has later been confirmed in animal andhumanstudies.3,4 AclinicalstudybyNesioonpour used preoperative LPT in patients having surgical fix- Laser phototherapy— an expansion of dental medicine Author_Jan Tunér, Sweden 06 I laser4_2015 Fig. 1