Effects of the association between hydroxyapatite and photobiomodulation on bone regeneration

Abstract

<abstract><sec> <title>Background</title> <p>Hydroxyapatite (HA)-based ceramics are widely used as artificial bone substitutes due to their advantageous biological properties, which include biocompatibility, biological affinity, bioactivity, ability to drive bone formation, integration into bone tissue and induction of bone regeneration (in certain conditions). Phototherapy in bone regeneration is a therapeutic approach that involves the use of light to stimulate and accelerate the process of repair and regeneration of bone tissue. There are two common forms of phototherapy used for this purpose: Low-Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) and LED (Light Emitting Diode) Therapy. Understanding the mechanisms of laser therapy and its effects combined with hydroxyapatite has gaps. Therefore, this review was designed based on the PICO strategy (P: problem; I: intervention; C: control; O: result) to analyze the relationship between PBM therapy and hydroxyapatite.</p> </sec><sec> <title>Methods</title> <p>The bibliographic search, with the descriptors “hydroxyapatite AND low-level laser therapy” and “hydroxyapatite AND photobiomodulation” resulted in 43 articles in the PubMed/MEDLINE database, of which 1 was excluded for being a duplicate and another 33 due to inclusion/exclusion criteria, totaling 9 articles for qualitative analysis. In the Web of Science database, we obtained 40 articles, of which 7 were excluded for being duplicates, 1 for not having the full text available and another 17 due to inclusion/exclusion criteria, totaling 15 articles for qualitative analysis.</p> </sec><sec> <title>Results</title> <p>The most used biomaterial was composed of hydroxyapatite and β-tricalcium phosphate in a proportion of 70%–30%. In photobiomodulation, the gallium-aluminum-arsenide (GaAlAs) laser prevailed, with a wavelength of 780 nm, followed by 808 nm.</p> </sec><sec> <title>Conclusions</title> <p>The results indicated that the use of laser phototherapy improved the repair of bone defects grafted with the biomaterial, increasing the deposition of HA phosphate as indicated by biochemical estimators, spectroscopy and histological analyses.</p> </sec></abstract>