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Er:YAG Laser Effects on Microbial Population in Conservative Dentistry

Use of the Er:YAG Laser in Conservative Dentistry: Evaluation of the Microbial Population in Carious Lesions

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT04769882
Enrollment
33
Registered
2021-02-25
Start date
2020-09-07
Completion date
2020-12-18
Last updated
2021-02-25

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Dental Caries, Microbial Colonization

Keywords

Er:YAG Laser, Oral Microbiota, Conservative Dentistry

Brief summary

The aim of this study is to verify the quantitative and qualitative effect of Erbium dental laser therapy on microbial populations in carious lesions and to compare the laser therapy with traditional conservative therapies.

Detailed description

Patients will be assessed and selected at the University Odontostomatology Clinic (COU) in Perugia; patients are considered eligible for enrolment if they are at least 18 years old and have a carious lesion on permanent teeth, cavitated and non-destructive, deepening to the middle third of the dentine and no further. The patients will be randomly assigned to two groups as follows: group A, control group, which includes treatment with traditional therapy; group B, intervention group, which includes treatment with Er:YAG laser therapy. For each patient, two salivary swabs will be taken on the cavity dentine of the carious lesion: one before and one after the treatments.

Interventions

DEVICEEr:YAG Laser

Selected Er:YAG settings: enamel removal program for adult, with normal modality (frequency: 20 Hz, energy: 400 mJ, power: 8.0 W, air: 80%, water: 60%) and dentin removal program for adult, with normal modality (frequency: 20 Hz, energy: 200 mJ, power: 4.0 W, air: 90%, water: 30%)

Sponsors

University Of Perugia
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE (Caregiver, Outcomes Assessor)

Masking description

To ensure confidentiality of the data, each subject will be assigned a serial number so that only one of the experimenters will be able to link a number to the corresponding person. In addition, a dedicated computer will be used for data collection and analysis, which will be set up to allow limited access with a password known only to one of the experimenters.

Intervention model description

The patients will be randomly assigned with a software (Excel 2007) to two groups: group A, control group, which includes treatment with traditional therapy; group B, intervention group, which includes treatment with Er:YAG laser therapy.

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

\- Adult patients of both sexes with at least 18 years of age and one cavitated non-destructive carious occlusal lesion of a permanent teeth, that deepens up to the middle third of the dentin and not beyond, confirmed by radiographic exam and without pulp involvement.

Exclusion criteria

* patients that refused to sign the informed consent document; * children or individuals with less than 18 years; * pregnant subjects; * patients with syndromes or chronic systemic diseases; * patients who had used antibiotics within the previous three months or under pharmacological treatments; * patients with painful symptoms consistent with irreversible pulpitis or mobility and destructive carious lesions extending beyond the middle third of the dentin; * teeth with exposure of the dental pulp or periodontitis; * patients with caries on deciduous teeth; * patients with no cooperation during the radiographical exam and/or treatments.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Comparison of microbial load change after Er:YAG and conventional treatmentsMeasuring before any treatment and after treatments, through study completion, an average of 6 monthsSwabbing of two samples from the cavity floor of lesions: before any treatment and after treatments (laser and traditional). Quantitative evaluation of the microbial population, in terms of Colony Forming Unit (CFU) by seeding the swabs taken in various types of media (Chocolate Agar, CNA Agar, Haemophilus Agar, Sabouraud, McConkey Agar, Shaedler Agar) and analysing the changes from baseline CFUs before any treatment and after Er:YAG laser and conventional therapies (control group and intervention group), comparing the effects of the two different types of treatment .
Comparison of the effects of Er:YAG and conventional therapy in modifying the reduction of specific microbial species through mass spectrometry typingMeasuring before any treatment and after treatments, through study completion, an average of 6 monthsQualitative evaluation of the microbial species grown by mass spectrometry typing (MALDI TOF MS, Biomèrieux) of colonies freshly collected on culture plates, and analysis of the changes from baseline growth before any treatment and after Er:YAG laser and conventional therapies (control group and intervention group), comparing the effects on the growth of specific microbial populations of the two different types of treatment .

Countries

Italy

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026