Laser-assisted debonding of ceramic veneers: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Statement of problem

The process of removing ceramic veneers is difficult, time consuming, and invasive. However, although lasers should provide a straightforward method for the debonding of ceramic veneers, a systematic review is lacking.

Purpose

The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to investigate the efficacy of the laser-assisted debonding of ceramic veneers.

Material and methods

A systematic search was conducted in Medline/PubMed, Cochrane, Scopus, and Web of Science databases. Then, an analysis was performed using the meta-analysis approach to investigate the efficacy of the laser-assisted debonding of ceramic veneers. Quality assessment of the included articles was carried out using the Cochrane Collaboration tool. For the meta-analysis, the RevMan 5.4 software program was used to perform a random-effects model of standardized mean differences with 95% confidence intervals.

Results

A total of 1108 studies were identified, of which 627 studies were selected for title and abstract analysis. The qualitative analysis included 16 studies, of which 3 studies were used in the quantitative synthesis. In the meta-analysis, the shear bond strength of the laser groups was compared with that of the control group. A substantial level of heterogeneity was noted in the included studies (I²=67%, P<.001).

Conclusions

The findings suggest that erbium lasers have a significant immediate effect in decreasing the shear bond strength of ceramic veneers. Furthermore, with proper laser settings, veneers can be safely removed without damaging the underlying tooth structure.