Effect of 980-nm GaAlAs diode laser irradiation on healing of extraction sockets in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats: a pilot study

Low-level laser irradiation can promote the healing process in soft and hard tissue but the precise mechanisms are unclear. In this study, we examined the effect of LLLT (low-level laser therapy) on the healing of extraction sockets in diabetic and healthy rats. Forty-eight Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into normal ( n = 24) and diabetic ( n = 24) rats, and streptozotocin (STZ) injection was used to induce diabetes in the latter. The left and right maxillary first molars of all the rats were extracted. In the non-diabetic rats, the left extraction sockets were not irradiated (group 1) and the right ones were irradiated daily for 3, 5, 7, and 14 days after extraction with a galium-aluminum-arsenide (GaAlAs) diode laser (group 2), and in the diabetic rats, similarly the left ones were not irradiated (group 3) and the right ones were irradiated (group 4). Specimens acquired at these intervals were examined by hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Histological observations and gene expression analyses revealed that groups 2 (normal rats with LLLT) and 4 (diabetic rats with LLLT) showed faster initial healing and more new alveolar bone formation than group 1 (normal rats without LLLT) and group 3 (diabetic rats without LLLT), respectively. We conclude that 980-nm GaAlAs low-intensity diode laser irradiation is beneficial for the initial stages of alveolar bone healing and for further calcification in both diabetic and normal rats when applied every day at a dose of 13.95 J/cm 2 for 60 s.