INFLUENCE OF LOW-LEVEL LASER THERAPY ON RANKL AND OPG LEVEL IN ALVEOLAR BONE OF OSTEOPOROTIC RATS

Introduction: Osteoporosis is a bone disorder with significant alterations in bonebiologic material and consequent bone structural distraction. Low-level laser therapy(LLLT) has been studied as a physical modality that influences cellular activity throughphotochemical, photophysical, and photobiological mechanisms, making it an effectiveintervention for osteoporosis. Aim of the study: The current study was conducted toevaluate the impacts of low-level laser therapy on glucocorticoid induced osteoporosisat different time intervals. Methodology: This investigation involved 40 adult malealbino rats, which were evenly distributed into four groups, each containing ten rats;control, DEX, 7 days LLLT, and 25 days LLLT. At the end of the experiment, all therats were humanely euthanized. Their lower jaws were then collected and subjected tostaining with Hematoxylin & Eosin (H&E) and immunohistochemical (IHC) analysisfor RANKL and OPG. Results: DEX group revealed massive alveolar bone destructionwith strong RANKL and weak OPG immunoreactivities. However, 7 days LLLT and25 days LLLT groups showed improvements in the alveolar bone architecture withdecreased RANKL and increased OPG immunoreactivities. Conclusion: ThroughRANKL/OPG ratio downregulation, LLLT improved bone architecture, encouragedbone healing, and stimulated osteogenesis over time.