Healing Light

Low Level Laser Therapy Reduces Swelling and Speeds Healing After a Bicycle Accident

Eli, a 5 year old young cowboy, was more skilled at riding his horse than a bicycle. He jackknifed the front wheel and had a serious accident, striking the pavement face first, hard enough to knock his front teeth, including the bone that supported them, back into the roof of his mouth. Photograph 1(Figure 18) taken 5 hours after the accident shows considerable swelling and skin abrasions. Fortunately his mother owned the Resonator laser and applied it to Eli’s face in three locations for two minutes each five hours after the accident.

On day two, just 24 hours after applying the laser, photograph 2 (Figure 19) shows that the swelling is completely gone, a scab is clearly formed and his cheeks were rosy. Because the laser is so easy to use, Eli applied it to his own face on the second, third, fourth and fifth days for just two minutes in the same three locations where his mother used it on the first day. To his mother’s amazement, healing was so fast that the scab fell off the third day (Figure 20).  I personally saw Eli on the sixth day (Figure 21) and I could not tell, after examining both the inside and out-side his mouth, that he had had an accident. He was completely healed!

As a practicing dentist for 35 years, I have seen many trauma accidents to teeth. This was the first time I have seen baby (primary) teeth receive such a severe blow and not turn black. Another big plus is that because his mother owned the laser and used it right after the accident, there was no damage to his permanent teeth. Since this accident, Eli has become an experienced bicycle rider as well as a horseback rider.

These pictures and case history were submitted by Marjorie Orser, Registered Dental Hygienist and a regular Q Series laser user from Palm Springs, CA.

A lesion under the tip of the tongue was found on routine examination on a 17-year-old male patient in April, 2004 (Figure 22). The patient was referred to an oral surgeon and the lesion was removed on April 04, 2004 and sent for laboratory evaluation. The pathology report diagnosed the lesion as a nonmalignant Mucocele.

On June 29, 2004, less than three months from the time of the surgical removal, the lesion was back again, only this time it was twice the size (Figure 23). Rather than repeat the surgery, the lesion was treated with low level laser therapy. The 660 Enhancer followed by mode 3 of the Q1000 was applied for three minutes on June 29, 2004. The patient received similar laser treatments on June 30th and on July 1st.  In just two days the lesion had shrunk in size by over one half (Figure 24). Four more laser treatments were repeated on July 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th.

The patient returned on July 19th and it was noted that in just 2 ½ weeks the lesion had totally healed (Figure 25).

While Mucocele lesions are not life threatening, they are annoying and worrisome to the patient and normally require painful surgery to remove them. This case history presents a better, more comfortable way to treat lesions of the mouth.

Because this method of treatment is so comfortable and safe, low level laser therapy should be considered as the first choice of treatment for any oral lesions or lesions on any other part of the body.