Findings

What do systematic reviews say?

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Evidence found and GRADE certainty

33 questions · 43 findings · 6 reviews

No studies found 4 · 9.3%GRADE not reported 17 · 39.5%Very low 18 · 41.9%Low 4 · 9.3%Moderate 0 · 0%High 0 · 0%

Laser (Er:YAG, Er,Cr:YSGG, or Nd:YAG) vs Conventional mechanical caries removal (standard drill; handpiece with a bur)

Marginal integrity of restoration · Children, adolescents and adults with caries in deciduous and permanent teeth (age 3.5 to 84 years)

Laser (Er:YAG, Er,Cr:YSGG, or Nd:YAG) showed no clear difference in marginal integrity of restorations compared with conventional mechanical caries removal (standard drill; handpiece…; GRADE not reported.

3 findings from 1 review

Laser (Er:YAG, Er,Cr:YSGG, or Nd:YAG) vs Conventional mechanical caries removal (standard drill; handpiece with a bur)

Participant discomfort (vibration, smell, noise) · Children, adolescents and adults with caries in deciduous and permanent teeth (age 3.5 to 84 years)
1 finding from 1 review
  • Lasers for caries removal in deciduous and permanent teeth 2016 · Cochrane All outcomes
    during treatment
    Five studies reported participant discomfort (Belcheva 2014; Evans 2000; Hadley 2000; Keller 1998; Liu 2006). Keller 1998 (90 adults): discomfort significantly lower with laser (Analysis 1.6). Hadley 2000 (66 adults):…
    5 studies
    GRADE not reported

Laser (Er:YAG, Er,Cr:YSGG, or Nd:YAG) vs Conventional mechanical caries removal (standard drill; handpiece with a bur)

Pulpal inflammation or necrosis · Children, adolescents and adults with caries in deciduous and permanent teeth (age 3.5 to 84 years)

It is very uncertain whether laser (Er:YAG, Er,Cr:YSGG, or Nd:YAG) changes pulpal inflammation or necrosis compared with conventional mechanical caries removal (standard drill; handpiece… (very low certainty).

3 findings from 1 review

Laser (Er:YAG, Er,Cr:YSGG, or Nd:YAG) vs Conventional mechanical caries removal (standard drill; handpiece with a bur)

Restoration survival · Children, adolescents and adults with caries in deciduous and permanent teeth (age 3.5 to 84 years)

It is very uncertain whether laser (Er:YAG, Er,Cr:YSGG, or Nd:YAG) changes durability of restoration compared with conventional mechanical caries removal (standard drill; handpiece… (very low certainty).

3 findings from 1 review

Laser (Er:YAG, Er,Cr:YSGG, or Nd:YAG) vs Conventional mechanical caries removal (standard drill; handpiece with a bur)

Operator preference/fatigue in operator · Children, adolescents and adults with caries in deciduous and permanent teeth (age 3.5 to 84 years)
1 finding from 1 review
  • One study (Evans 2000): 11 dental practitioners expressed a preference in 73 of 77 'dentist/patient encounters', significantly in favour of conventional drill rather than laser (P < 0.001); main difficulty with laser…
    1 study
    GRADE not reported

Laser (Er:YAG, Er,Cr:YSGG, or Nd:YAG) vs Conventional mechanical caries removal (standard drill; handpiece with a bur)

Caries removal (clinical) · Children, adolescents and adults with caries in deciduous and permanent teeth (age 3.5 to 84 years)

Laser (Er:YAG, Er,Cr:YSGG, or Nd:YAG) showed no clear difference in caries removal (clinical) compared with conventional mechanical caries removal (standard drill; handpiece… (low certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

Laser (Er:YAG, Er,Cr:YSGG, or Nd:YAG) vs Conventional mechanical caries removal (standard drill; handpiece with a bur)

Duration of treatment · Children, adolescents and adults with caries in deciduous and permanent teeth (age 3.5 to 84 years)

Laser (Er:YAG, Er,Cr:YSGG, or Nd:YAG) led to higher duration of treatment compared with conventional mechanical caries removal (standard drill; handpiece…; GRADE not reported.

1 finding from 1 review

Laser (Er:YAG, Er,Cr:YSGG, or Nd:YAG) vs Other caries removal systems (chemo-mechanical, sono-abrasion, or air-abrasion)

Outcome not reported · Children, adolescents and adults with caries in deciduous and permanent teeth (age 3.5 to 84 years)

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

1 finding from 1 review
  • 'Types of interventions' allowed comparison of laser with other caries-removal systems (chemo-mechanical, sono-abrasion, air-abrasion); no included study used such a comparator (all nine included trials compared laser…
    Studies not reported
    No studies found

Laser (Er:YAG, Er,Cr:YSGG, or Nd:YAG) vs Conventional mechanical caries removal (standard drill; handpiece with a bur)

Secondary caries · Children, adolescents and adults with caries in deciduous and permanent teeth (age 3.5 to 84 years)
1 finding from 1 review
  • Lasers for caries removal in deciduous and permanent teeth 2016 · Cochrane All outcomes
    6 months to 2 years follow-up
    Two trials reported data on prevalence of secondary caries (Hadley 2000 at 6 months; Yazici 2010 at 2 years). No occurrence of caries was reported in either study (no events; no estimable effect).
    2 studies
    GRADE not reported

Laser (Er:YAG, Er,Cr:YSGG, or Nd:YAG) vs Conventional mechanical caries removal (standard drill; handpiece with a bur)

Participant preference · Children, adolescents and adults with caries in deciduous and permanent teeth (age 3.5 to 84 years)
1 finding from 1 review
  • Three studies (Evans 2000; Liu 2006; Zhang 2013) reported participants' preference for future treatment. Zhang 2013: 37/53 children (72%) preferred laser, 10 (22%) drill. Liu 2006: 36/40 (90%) preferred laser, 4 (5%)…
    3 studies
    GRADE not reported

Laser (Er:YAG, Er,Cr:YSGG, or Nd:YAG) vs Conventional mechanical caries removal (standard drill; handpiece with a bur)

Episodes of pain (moderate or high pain; six-face rating scale) · Children, adolescents and adults with caries in deciduous and permanent teeth (age 3.5 to 84 years)

Laser (Er:YAG, Er,Cr:YSGG, or Nd:YAG) may leads to lower episodes of pain (moderate or high pain; six-face rating scale) compared with conventional mechanical caries removal (standard drill; handpiece… (low certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

Laser (Er:YAG, Er,Cr:YSGG, or Nd:YAG) vs Conventional mechanical caries removal (standard drill; handpiece with a bur)

Need for anaesthesia · Children, adolescents and adults with caries in deciduous and permanent teeth (age 3.5 to 84 years)

Laser (Er:YAG, Er,Cr:YSGG, or Nd:YAG) led to lower need for anaesthesia compared with conventional mechanical caries removal (standard drill; handpiece…; GRADE not reported.

2 findings from 1 review