Efficacy of Nd: Yag Laser Biostimulation in the Treatment of Inferior Alveolar Nerve Injury after Implant Surgery

Abstract

The inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) is a branch of the trigeminal nerve and this nerve supplies sensation to the ipsilateral lower lip, teeth, and buccal mandibular gingivae. The anatomical position of IAN places this nerve at increased injury risk. During oral surgery, the nerve tissue may be damaged so paresthesia which is characterized by the sensorineural loss that may occur [1,2]. Neurosensory damage of peripheral innervation still remains a problem which is not treated easily. A solution of this situation may consist of systemic administration of medication, local electrical stimulation, physiotherapy, nerve repair surgery or LLLT [3]. The LLLT in dentistry is used before, and LLLT techniques have been in widespread use in all over the world [4,5]. When applied to oral tissues, it has potential to wound healing, bone healing, restoring neural function after damage and regulation of hormonal functions [6-8]. LLLT has a non-thermal and biomodulatory effect on membranes of mitochondria and increases ATP production in cells [9]. This explains why LLLT have been shown to benefit soft tissue healing.