Title: Healing in a new light: Red light therapy in postoperative dental care
Abstract:
Red light therapy (RLT), also known as photobiomodulation, is gaining increasing attention as a non-invasive adjunct to enhance postoperative healing and reduce discomfort following common dental procedures. With a growing demand for faster, less invasive recovery, especially in the facial aesthetics field, RLT is emerging as a promising tool to improve both clinical and patient-centered outcomes. Its potential lies in its ability to accelerate healing, minimise visible swelling, and reduce the need for pharmacological intervention such as analgesics or anti-inflammatories. This review explores the evolving role of RLT in dental practice, focusing on its application after a range of invasive procedures including extractions, implant placement, periodontal surgeries, and pulpectomies. Red light, typically delivered in the 600–1000?nm wavelength range, has been found to stimulate mitochondrial activity, enhance ATP synthesis, reduce pro-inflammatory cytokines, and accelerate tissue regeneration, without causing thermal damage to surrounding tissues. Drawing on recent clinical evidence, this review assesses the effectiveness of RLT in improving overall patient recovery. Additionally, key challenges such as variability in treatment protocols (wavelength, dosage, and timing), limited standardisation, and a lack of long-term outcome data are examined. Notably, the consistent absence of adverse effects across studies supports its safety profile. This review evaluates whether RLT can be integrated into routine dental care, its potential future applications and outlines areas where further research is needed to establish clinical guidelines and optimise outcomes.
