evaluating the effects of low-level laser therapy and platelet-rich plasma on bone calcium content and mechanical properties at tooth extraction sites: an animal study

Background: both low-level laser therapy (lllt) and platelet-rich plasma (prp) are demonstrated to promote the repair of mandibular defects. objectives: this study investigated the mechanical properties and calcium content at the tooth extraction site in a rat model exposed to lllt (λ = 808 nm) with or without prp. methods: in this experimental rat model study, the left first molar maxillary teeth were extracted in twenty male rats. then, the animals were randomly divided into four groups. group one: after extraction, the extraction sockets were treated with 0.9 w gallium-aluminum-arsenide (gaalas) diode laser irradiation for five minutes every 72 hours for the next 12 days (4 times overall); group two: prp was placed in the extraction sockets; group three: a combination of both treatments (lllt+prp) was applied; group four: the extraction sockets remained untreated (the control group). all rats were sacrificed 30 days post-operative. all bone blocks of the extracted socket were prepared for mechanical strength and calcium content analyses. mann-whitney test, one-way anova test, and post hoc fisher’s least significant difference (lsd) were used to analyze the data. a p-value less than 0.05 was considered significant. all analyses were performed by spss 16.0. the graph is illustrated in the graph pad 5. results: the compressive strength in the laser group was significantly higher than in the control and prp-treated groups (p = 0.0001 and 0.00044, respectively). compared to the control and prp groups, the effects of a combination of prp and lllt mechanical strength were statistically similar. calcium content was influenced by none of the treatments. conclusions: the mechanical strength of the bone blocks was significantly stronger in the lllt group than in the other groups. platelet-rich plasma alone or combined with lllt demonstrated a synergistic impact on neither mechanical strength nor calcium content.