Fungicidal effect of diode laser irradiation in patients with denture stomatitis

Background and Objective: Denture stomatitis (DS) is a common inflammatory condition that affects denture wearers. The aim of this study was to examine, in vivo, the effect of diode laser irradiation on fungal growth in both the palatal mucosa and in denture base materials, in denture wearing patients. Study Design/Materials and Methods: In total, 70 patients with clinical study design evidence of DS participated in this parallel, single blind, and placebo controlled study. The subjects were randomly assigned to one of four different treatment regimens: (1) irradiation with a 685 nm wavelength laser for 10 minutes (30 mW); (2) irradiation with a 830 nm wavelength laser for 5 minutes (60 mW). A semiconductor diode laser, BTL-2000 (BTL-2 Dravotnicka Technika, Prague, Czech Republic), was used in both treatment cases using an energy density of 3.0 j/cm(2) and a continuous working mode for five consecutive days; (3) placebo-sham irradiation of patients; (4) antimicotic-self treatment of patient's palatal mucosa with an antifungal oral gel and the use of an antiseptic solution for their dentures. The effect of laser light on fungal growth in vivo was evaluated after final treatment using the swab method and a semi-quantitative estimation of Candida albicans colonies cultivated on agar plates. Results: A fungicidal effect was achieved in the laser treated and antimicotic treated groups, whereas most subjects in the placebo group were found to have unchanged conditions on both their palate (P=0,004) and dentures (P<0,001). Conclusions: Light from a low-power laser (LLLT) may be valuable in the treatment of DS. This is of great importance since the rate of recurrence of disease is high, whereas an optimal treatment modality has not yet been found. Lasers (C) 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.