DISCUSSION
There is a demand for pre-procedure local anesthesia therapy to address the fear and trauma experienced by many patients during this procedure. This therapy should provide a safe, side-effect-free solution that effectively alleviates pain caused by needle punctures and eliminates the need for repeated anesthesia [2].
The effectiveness of the use of Photobiomodulation is already proven, and numerous well-designed studies have obtained positive results, especially in pain control. However, to date, there are no well-designed studies on the relationship between photobiomodulation and its action in local anesthesia [8,9].
This study found a 50% improvement in the patient’s perception of pain, in line with other studies with anesthesia that have shown positive results. Sensitivity tests showed that anesthesia was more effective on the laser side, and there was no difference in blood pressure before and after anesthesia.
Given all other the studies found, it was not possible to find other outcomes evaluated, that is, it was not possible to compare results about anesthetic latency or the possible change in blood pressure. Studies that evaluate more than one outcome and not only pain are necessary since this is an area of application of photobiomodulation where there is a shortage of studies.
Even though this case report had positive results, we cannot state that the application of photobiomodulation before anesthesia is determinant to reduce pain and increase the effectiveness of local anesthesia since it also depends on the technique performed and possible anatomical changes of the patient, and this case, we evaluated only one patient. For this reason, more studies are needed to evaluate the mechanism of action of photobiomodulation in anesthesia and well-designed clinical studies to prove this possible effect.