Efficacy of diode laser and gluma on post-preparation sensitivity: Arandomized split-mouth clinical study

Objective: This study aimed to compare the efficacy of a 940-nm diode laser and Gluma desensitizer on post-preparation sensitivity of prepared teeth. Materials and Methods: Twenty patients with 76 teeth participated in the study. For each patient, prepared molar or premolar in one quadrant were individually irradiated by laser. In the symmetrical quadrant, Gluma was applied onto the prepared teeth. No treatment was performed in the control group. Temporary crowns were placed after preparation. Pain response to tactile stimulus was assessed atone day, one week, and two weeks using visual analog scale (VAS). Intergroup comparisons were made with Kruskal Wallis test (p<0.05). Results: MeanVAS scores of the control group were statistically higher than laser and Gluma groups (p<0.017). The difference between VAS scores of the laser and Gluma groups was statistically insignificant (p>0.05). Conclusions: A significant reduction in level of sensitivity after both treatments was observed. The reduction of sensitivity with Gluma was not significantly superior to laser. No significant additional reduction occurred in level of sensitivity from the first day to the second week after both treatments. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE The application of Gluma or a 940-nm diode laser may be considered as effective in reducing sensitivity after tooth preparation without superiority of either method.