ArticleLasers in medical science2026
Role of photobiomodulation in controlling the gag reflex during posterior tooth extraction, a pilot case series.
Article in Lasers in medical science, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
This pilot case series aimed to investigate the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of photobiomodulation (PBM; also known as low-level laser therapy [LLLT]) applied to specific acupuncture points (PC6 and CV24) in managing the gag reflex during posterior single-tooth extraction. Participants with moderate-to-severe gag reflex (n = 20) were selected based on Gagging Severity Index (GSI) scores ≥ 3 during clinical examination. Gag reflex severity was measured using both the GSI and the Predictive Gagging Survey (PGS) before and after the procedure. LLLT (976 nm diode laser, 100 mW, 4 J/cm² per point, continuous-wave, 20 s per point, 8-mm diameter tip [spot area ≈ 0.50 cm²]) was administered immediately prior to extraction. Preoperative GSI scores (3.3 ± 0.6) underwent a significant decrease postoperatively (1.3 ± 0.5; P < 0.001). Concurrently, PGS scores showed a moderate positive correlation with baseline GSI. LLLT was found to be an effective method of controlling the gag reflex during posterior tooth extraction, thereby facilitating the procedure. In this pilot study, LLLT was associated with reduced gag reflex during posterior tooth extraction. However, the absence of a control group should be acknowledged as a limitation, and the findings should be interpreted with caution. Controlled trials are needed to confirm these preliminary results.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.