Infrared Diode Laser Therapy-Induced Lymphatic Drainage for Inflammation in the Head and Neck
ORIGINAL ARTICLES INFRARED DIODE LASER THERAPY-INDUCED LYMPHATIC DRAINAGE FOR INFLAMMATION IN THE HEAD AND NECK Luciana Almeida-Lopes1, Attilio Lopes2, Jan Tunér3 and R Glen Calderhead4 1: Collaborating Researcher, ElectroThermoPhotoTherapy Laboratory – UFSCar – Brazil;2:Department of Oral Pathology, College of Dentistry, University Camilo Castelo Branco, São Paulo, Brazil; 3: Private Dental Clinic, Grängesberg, Sweden; and 4: LG Biomedical, Tochigi and Japan Phototherapy Laboratory, Tokyo, Japan Inflammation of many different aetiologies is a condition affecting almost 100% of all patients presenting at dental clinics, and the complete management of inflammation is often extremely important before any orth- odontic surgery can be carried out. The lymphatic system is one of the body’s main lines of defence against in- flammation, with the lymph nodes playing an extremely major role. laser therapy, or LLLT, has become much more common in dental offices, and is associated with pain attenuation, wound healing and anti-inflammatory properties. The last of these is mediated amongst others by the effect of LLLT on the lymphatic system, which has been shown to enhance lymphatic drainage concomitantly with increasing local blood flow to the treated area. Infected areas and those with viral contamination have been suggested as contraindications for laser ther- apy. The possibility of treating these difficult-to-manage entities through laser therapy-accelerated drainage of the affected lymphatics offers another approach. Although lymphatic drainage is frequently used in the clinical setting, its application in dentistry is less common than it should be. An illustrated review of the lymphatic sys- tem of the head and neck is presented, with relevance to the use of infrared diode laser therapy in inducing lym- phatic drainage in the management of inflammation associated with acute infectious processes such as pericoronitis, endodontic abscesses, alveolitis and herpes.
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