Bart Wolbers
Bart Wolbers
- 16 min read

Oral Wound Healing With Red Light Therapy: Innovative Advancement?

Learn the science of how red light therapy speeds up oral wound healing, reducing inflammation and promoting faster tissue regeneration.

Oral Wound Healing With Red Light Therapy: Innovative Advancement?
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Introduction

Bart, "Why care about oral wound healing?!"

"Doesn't that process happen automatically?"

"And why would you need red light therapy for oral wound healing?!"

Well, let me explain some of the basics! If you've got poor oral wound healing, it can affect your overall health. Wounds in the mouth are linked to the rest of your body. So, if you've got an open wound in the mouth, there's the risk of infectino or abscess formation, or the spread of bacteria throughout your body. In the worst case scenarios, depending on the location, the teeth or jaw itself can be affected.

If wounds remain long enough in the oral cavity, you may need surgical intervention. Also, functions such as speaking or chewing can be affected, or just the tongue positioning for proper breathing, such as from a sore at the roof of your mouth.

In many cases, you'll have to be extra careful, such as if you've got pre-existing conditions. Examples are diabetes, people with existing oral conditions such as advanced periodontitis. Once wounds last, further conditions can even develop such as jaw problems. Then, you'll may end up not only with poor aesthetical outcomes but also problems with chewing, for instance, or speaking, or develop chronic pain!

You therefore don't want oral wounds to persist over time. And, sometimes these wounds have a hard time healing. That's where red light therapy comes in - I'll cover all the science on red light therapy for oral wound healing today.

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Red light therapy for oral wound healing summary:

Oral wound healing differs from wound healing at other locations of your body, because there is no scar formation.

Different colors of light from the visible spectrum, such as blue and red, can help oral wound healing, as well as near-infrared. The mechanism here is increased energy-production through the mitochondria. I describe many other mechanisms in the article.

As always, I don't recommend using light therapy as your only solution but recommend health strategies such as proper nutrition and lowering stress as well. Current treatments with topical applications of medicine, or scaffolds has the problem that it's not always successful or leads to a quicker solution, and that's where light therapy comes in.

Human and animal studies both show benefits for different oral wound healing goals, such as gums, incisions, and ulcers. There's no unique wavelength that works but red light has slightly more benefit than, say, blue light or near-infrared wavelengths. I recommend a total dosage of 1-8 J/cm2. Higher doses work more poorly in studies. Some human studies show increases in wound healing speed of 3X when red light therapy is applied, which is quite significant!

Before I move on to the wound healing article, one comment. You may be interested in my other articles on red light therapy for dental health, such as:

These articles can give you more background information on other topics for using light therapy for oral care.

Moving on:

The Science Behind Red Light Therapy And Its Relation To Wound Healing

So let's talk about red light therapy - how it works, and its relationship to oral wound healing. Simply put, when you shine light on different tissues, there will be a biological effect. Different types of light have different effects.

That light can be divided into different types, such as ultraviolet (which can give you a sunburn), visible light (the only light you can see with your eyes), and infrared light (which makes the sun feel hot on your skin). Red light therapy uses red light from the visible light spectrum and near-infrared light from the infrared spectrum.

When that light hits your skin, all types of biological effects occur. If you'd want a background on these effects, I recommend checking:

Red light therapy increases the energy-production in your cells, for instance, through so-called "mitochondria". Mitochondria are the energy-producing factories of your cells and when they receive light, their energy production goes up. Many other effects occur with light exposure, such as the water in your cells changes structure, and the activation of genes is altered.

All these biological effects influence wound healing too. Let's explore red light therapy's effects on wound healing in more detail - especially oral wound healing:

Oral Wound Healing - Different Than Normal Wound Healing?

So here's the interesting part about oral wound healing: it's different from when you get a wound on your skin (1). With oral wound healing, there's no scar formation (1; 6). For instance, if you've got strong bleeding of the gums, and fix that gingivitis, there won't be any scars left afterwards and the tissue will look like normal. So even if you've got a big cut in your lips, after a month, nothing of that earlier damage is visible any longer.

The tissue in your mouth, such as the mucosa, will also heal much quicker than, say, the skin on your feet or on your hands. The "oral mucosa" is the inside lining of your mouth and its adjacent structures such as your lips (2). That mucosa isn't just a passive structure but is extremely highly reflective of your overall health. So, a poorly functioning and unhealthy looking oral mucosa is a reflection - often - of poor overall health.

If you're smoking or a chronic drug user, or have significant nutritional deficiencies, your oral mucosa will tend to reflect that status. Nevertheless, once compromised, healing the oral mucosa can also be complicated as the process is different than healing a skin wound (3).

There are slight difference though, in the healing of your cheeks, or lips, or gums (4). Oral wound healing is complicated in the sense that there are no easy-to-apply therapies that can improve it. A recent review that analyzed and integrated 23 previous studies states:

"Current oral wound healing models have examined the use of a delivery vehicle to facilitate healing by promoting a pro-regenerative environment over time. Emerging therapies have seen promising therapeutic efficacy from polymeric scaffolds that are coupled with drugs, cells, tissue, or growth factors to enhance oral wound healing. Most of the studies [....] utilized four major types of treatment delivery vehicles: biological scaffolds (9/23), gel-like or topical ointment (5/23), synthetic polymeric scaffolds (3/23), and direct delivery of growth factors and plant derivative (3/23). The remaining studies used alternative therapies like ultrasound (2/23) or a hybrid biological-synthetic polymer scaffold (1/23). The studies then evaluated the success of oral wound healing therapy primarily using histology for tissue re-epithelialization and microscopy images for wound closure " (4).

So, having other options to enhance oral wound healing is essential - and that's where red light therapy comes in. Current solutions aren't simple and often require intervention by medical experts. Hence, if you could get access to easy-to-apply red light therapy devices for oral wound healing, it would make a world of difference.

Oral wound healing includes more than just your lips or gums, however (5). With oral wound healing you can also think about wound healing after a tooth extraction, or after you've received a new implant in your mouth, or after gum treatment such as scaling and root planing which removes plaque and tartar from under your gums.

Surgical incisions can reopen, for instance, with improper healing (5). Or wounds don't heal, plain and simple. There can be redness, or swelling, or the presence of pus, uncontrolled bleeding, that all signify a problem if they persist abnormally long (5). Nevertheless, tissues also differ, as your gums don't heal the same way as the upper palatal mucosa, for instance (7).

As always, I stress the importance of overall health in this area as well. Proper oral wound healing may be impeded with health conditions such as diabetes type II, for instance, or immune system problems. Or, there may be mechanical stress for chewing or speaking that impede the healing process. Next up, if your saliva or the oral microbiome are compromised, the healing process is also affected.

Medications, age, and nutrition also play a role. With nutritional deficiencies, healing slows down. And, the speed of healing won't be as quick if you're 70 compared to when you were 20 years old. I just want to say this out loud so that people never assume that I'm just focusing on red light therapy for oral wound healing here!

And, now that I've given you an extensive introduction about oral wound healing, let's move on to the red light therapy part:

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In the section below, I'll use some technical terms related to red light therapy. Examples here are "wavelengths" and terms from red light therapy dosing.

If you need an introduction into what these terms means, check the following resources:

- What Is Red Light Therapy?
- Red Light Therapy Explained: Basic Terms Guide
- Start Here - Light Therapy 101 & Buyers Guide
- Red Light Therapy Dosing Chart: The Raw Data From Hundreds Of Studies
- Red Light Therapy Dosing: Why It's Complicated!
- Red Light Therapy Wavelengths Benefits: The Ultimate Guide
- How Often Should You Use Red Light Therapy Explained

These resources should give you a basic understanding of how red light therapy works, and the discussions around it!

The Benefits of Red Light Therapy In Oral Wound Healing

Below I'll break down all human and animal studies on oral wound healing. I've included animal studies too because there weren't too many human studies available - and I though the animal studies could yield new information.

Here's what I found:

Human Studies

Below I'll consider all the human studies on red light therapy for oral wound healing. You may know that human studies have the highest level of evidence, as opposed to animal studies and in vitro (literally "in the glass") laboratory studies because, well, they're most applicable to humans.

So let's explore the human studies on this topic:

  • First, a study using 670 nm at only 0.34 J/cm2 (8). Incisions were made in the gums for a dental procedure, and with this dosing protocol, there was quicker healing in 69% of the patients. No side effects were noted either. The biological effects achieved are a better outer layer of the skin (epithelium) and more collagen synthesis, which have been noted in previous animal and in vitro studies.
  • Then there's a review investigating earlier work on this topic (9). Here red light therapy increases healing speed when measured a week after periodontal surgery. There was a 3.23X increased chance of complete wound "epithelization" 14 days after the procedure - so the outer layer of the skin that is completely healed. Keep in mind that this review analyzes and integrates previous research on this topic - twelve studies in total were included here!
  • Next up, a study using 660 nm for palatal wounds after a tissue graft was placed there and removed (10). Two doses of 30 and 60 J/cm2 were compared and the latter showed the best outcome after seven days.
  • A study using 1,064 nm, moreover, at 1.8 J/cm2 shows quicker palatal wound healing as well (11). Many different growth factors and biomarkers tied to inflammation were measured in this study, and the light therapy intervention showed superior levels here.
  • Furthermore, a 660 nm at 3 J/cm2 study for palatal wounds in combination with a tissue graft was applied four times over the course of a week (12). After the light was applied, wound healing sped up after 14 and 45 days, compared to the control group. Later on in the study, the control group caught up and the groups had an equal outcome, because all wounds were healed. But, nonetheless the light therapy group had quicker healing!
  • Lastly, there's another review on this topic (13). This is a somewhat older paper, saying that many of the mechanisms of oral wound healing are still being explored.

Animal Studies

Next up, let's look at some animal studies on red light therapy for oral wound healing:

  • The first study compares ozone therapy with red light therapy, for mucosal wound healing in rats (14). Light at 940 nm is used. An incision was made in the inner cheeks, or the area between the cheeks and teeth, the "buccal" area. There's also a control group receiving no treatment. Both the ozone and light therapy improved their inflammatory scores compared to placebo. The cell repair measurement also improved in both the ozone and light therapy groups. So overall, both light therapy and ozone can improve tissue repair in rats.
  • Next up, 810 and 940 nm are compared in rabbits for ulcers in the mouth (15). These ulcers were intentionally created in the rabbits, at both sides of the mouth. One side of the mouth was then treated with 810 nm light while the other was treated with 940 nm light. At first, both wavelengths worked equally well but after a week, 810 nm outperformed 940 nm for inflammation!
  • Another study uses 633 nm in rats (16). There was no difference in healing after five days.
  • Furthermore, guinea pigs received 633 nm light (17). The guinea pigs received a wound in surgery. Half the animals received five minutes of light therapy while the others didn't. Biomarkers for skin healing recovery (fibroblasts) as well as inflammation improved significantly for the guinea pigs receiving the light therapy after five days. At days three and 14, the measurements were similar though.
  • Then, a study uses 808 nm in mice (18). Here, the light helped attract stem cells to the area that needs healing. Stem cells are undifferentiated primordial cells that can specialize into a specific task and help the healing process. Light therapy also activated processes in the mitochondria, which could help wound healing in this study.
  • Next up, red light at 630 nm, blue at 425 nm, and green at 532 nm are used in diabetic rats at 2 J/cm2 (19). The rats received anesthesia and then a big wound was created in their mouth. The rats were treated three times weekly over a ten-day period. Red light worked best here, but green and blue also had an effect.
  • Another study, moreover, used 940 nm at 10 J/cm2 for three total treatments (20). An incision was made in the roof of the mouth. Overall wound healing was stimulated with the light, such as better cell division and inflammation when measurements were taken overa 21-day period after the incision.
  • Then, another study using 940 nm light at 10 J/cm2, with an incision made to the roof of the mouth of rats (21). Three treatmenst were given over six days. Healing improved in the light therapy group versus the control animals that didn't receive light therapy - with better cell division, collagen synthesis, and blood supply through "vascularization".
  • One more study compared 633 nm with 830 nm in mice (22). Doses of 4 and 7.5 J/cm2 were compared also. All light therapy interventions worked better than not applying light therapy, and the 633 nm light therapy group outperformed the 830 nm group slightly for wound healing.
  • Another study uses 633 nm at 3 and 7.5 J/cm2 in mice (23). Immune cells related to recovery were lower in the light therapy group versus control group, signifying faster recovery. Skin repair cells were also higher in the light therapy group. Both doses worked about equally well.
  • Then, 685 nm was used in rats at 4 J/cm2, resulting in less edema and inflammation (24). Four sessions were used every two days.
  • One more study uses 633 nm in rats at a 7.5 J/cm2 dose (25). Some rats received two treatments while other received three. An incision was made in the gums of the rats as well as their mucosa. Inflammation was lower with the light treatment group, and gene expression improved as well (the part of the gene that's activated). The conclusion here is that the wound healing process is improved with the light exposure.
  • A rat study, moreover, uses 810 nm for oral wound healing four days in a row, at 8 J/cm2 (26). Recovery improved after seven and 14 days, measured in antioxidant capacity.
  • Next up, a 660nm study using 4 and 20 J/cm2 as a dose in rats (27). The lower dose worked better here for inflammation and blood vessel structure. Both lead to better wound healing.
  • Another 660 nm study also explores the 4 and 20 J/cm2 doses in rats (28). Here too the lower dose works best for wound healing.

In Vitro Studies

I'll skip the in vitro studies because of the wide availability of the far more applicable animal-based research above! Maybe in the future, if people are really curious about this topic and this article gets shared a lot, I may update the in vitro section of this article, and if necesary, also the findings of the article!

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Section summary: Both human and animal studies show benefits of red light therapy for mouth ulcers, incisions, gum healing, and other wounds.

Different wavelengths in the blue and green part of the spectrum, all the way up to the near-infrared light spectrum work here. But, overall, there seems slightly more benefit to the red wavelengths compared to the rest. Also, lower doses such as 1-8 J/cm2 tend to work better than higher doses such as 20 J/cm2.

The benefits here include enhanced epithelialization (regrowth of the outer skin layer), the attraction of the healing stem cells to the area, increased collagen synthesis, improved inflammatory biomarkers, and improved blood vessel supply.

Based on these studies, I recommend red light therapy as part of oral wound healing medicine. Of course, follow your doctor's recommendations here - a topic I'll explore below:

How To Apply Red Light Therapy For Oral Wound Healing?

So it's somewhat difficult to give extremely detailed guidelines on how to apply red light therapy for oral wound healing. In the future, there likely will be a difference, between, say:

  • red light therapy for mouth sores
  • red light therapy for burning mouth syndrome
  • red light therapy for gum disease
  • red light therapy for canker sores

And so forth. And, likely, with different medication, different surgical procedures or the absence thereof, the treatment guidelines will likely vary in all of these cases in the future!

Here I'll come back to a very simple intervention that I've talked about in previous blog posts: I recommend the LightpathLED Diesel Torch here, because it has an oral tip that you can place on it.

You can grab the LightpathLED Diesel Torch while using discount code ALEX to save. If you want more info, check Alex Fergus' LightpathLED Diesel Torch review. You can view a review of Alex's Diesel torch below as well:

The torch emits 100 mW/cm in power output. So for a 2 J/cm2 dose that I recommended for oral wound healing, you'd need to treat a locatino for 20 seconds, with the oral tip located at that location. For 8 J/cm2, you'll need to treat for 80 seconds, or 1 minute and 20 seconds.

The torch is by no means perfect, as there's lots of near-infrared emitted as well. But, you can make the argument that the combination of red and near-infrared is arguably better than either/or. Also, you can even activate blue light on this LightpathLED Diesel Torch (discount code ALEX saves) that has also been proven beneficial in many studies.

Next up, arguably, the Noovalab Novoral Care Pro that my friend Alex has reviewed too:

You can grab a Noovalab Novoral Care Pro and use discount code ALEX15 to save. The device has many claims, such as killing bad bacteria, whitening your teeth, and helping with gum disease. The device emits blue, red, and near-infrared light.

The dosing of the device is about 12 mW/cm2 but if I look at the area under the curve that's at least two-third blue light. So you're getting 4 mW/cm2 of red and near-infrared light. That number translated into 0.24 J/cm2 per minute, or, around 4 J/cm2 in the suggested 15 minute treatment time. So the treatment protocol is actually really good if you wanted to treat the entire gumline area.

The only downside here is that the mouth guard model, so to speak, doesn't reach all the way into the back of the mouth. So your 2nd molars and the area around them probably won't get any light treatment and the 3rd molars certainly won't! Overall though, depending on where the oral wounds are located, this device could be a great option.

One more reason to choose the LightpathLED device over the Noovalab Novoral Care Pro is that the former is a lot more versatile. With the LightpathLED, you can literally treat any area of the body and have multiple tips for different treatment modalities.

I'd treat myself once per day, 3-5 times per week, with one of these devices. It's not smart to use both devices as you'll overdose. The benefit of the Noovalab product is obviously that it's easier to use, generally. The benefit of the LightpathLED torch is that you can reach almost any area in the mouth.

Other Dental Uses For Light Therapy

I'll explore the topic of other dental uses of light therapy soon with a general blog post about red light therapy in dentistry. So you'll have to stay tuned for that! In the meantime, I recommend you check out my earlier deep dives on light therapy for dentistry, such as:

Stay tuned for more updates! And, lastly, let's conclude:

Conclusion: Red Light Therapy For Dental Wound Healing Is Amazing

I also want to repeat what I've said in many previous blog posts on oral health and light therapy: nutrition and nutritional supplements for wound healing likely matter a lot. So please don't use tunnel vision and think that only light therapy matters–your lifestyle in its entirety matters for how well wounds heal. So if your diet is poor and you sleep only a few hours a night, light therapy is not going to compensate for those deficiencies!

Frequently Asked Questions

Below, I'll consider a few frequently asked questions in relation to red light therapy for mouth health:

Can I Use Red Light Therapy At Home For Oral Healing?

Yes, you can use red light therapy at home for oral healing - in fact, I recommend two devices in this blog post, the LightpathLED Diesel Torch that has an oral treatment tip, and the Noovalab Novoral Care Pro. Check my blog for a full analysis!

How Does Red Light Therapy Help Oral Wounds Heal Faster?

Yes, in general red light therapy speeds up the process of oral wound healing significantly! Some human studies show increases of 2-3X but it all depends on the circumstances of the patient.

How Long Does It Take To Heal Oral Wounds By Red Light Therapy?

There's no set time schedule for how long it takes for a wound to heal with red light therapy. But simply put, you can imagine that the wound healing is sped up, just like with proper nutrition or oral hygiene. Setting an exact number on how fast wounds heal isn't possible because it's dependent on so many factors, such as the ones I've described before, and age, and others!

Items Mentioned In This Article

This is a post by Bart Wolbers of Light Therapy Insiders. Bart finished degrees in Physical Therapy (B), Philosophy (BA and MA), Philosophy of Science and Technology (MS - with distinction), and Clinical Health Science (MS), has had training in functional medicine, and is currently chief science writer.

Make sure to join our Light Therapy Insiders Facebook group. We have more in-depth discussions there. I hope you’ll join us in the interesting conversations. Members share their ideas, observations, experiences, questions, and review requests. It’s an interactive group!

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