This week’s newest studies in red light therapy and photobiomodulation. See last week’s research here.
This Week in Red Light Therapy
This was a week that spanned from the dentist’s chair to the eye doctor’s office.
- Anxiety: Six trials suggest ear laser treatments can ease anxiety, but the effect got shaky once weaker studies were removed.
- Kids’ eyesight: A review of 18 studies confirmed red light therapy slows myopia progression, and it beat nutritional supplements at doing it.
- Diabetic wounds: A small study found laser therapy more than tripled the complete-healing rate for diabetic foot ulcers.
- Dental implants: A 272-person trial found daily laser treatment cut pain and sped healing after implant surgery.
Ear Lasers & Anxiety: Promising, But Uncertain
The study: Researchers pooled six randomized trials with 386 people to test whether low-level laser therapy applied to acupuncture points on the ear (auriculotherapy) eases anxiety.
What they found:
- People who got the ear laser treatment saw a meaningful drop in anxiety symptoms compared to sham or placebo treatment.
- The treatment also reduced pain and disability, with fewer side effects like ear pain or itchiness than you’d expect.
- When the researchers excluded the lower-quality trials from the analysis, the anxiety benefit stopped being statistically significant.
What this means for you: The signal is real but shaky, it disappeared once weaker trials were set aside, so this is a “worth watching” result rather than a settled one.
Red Light Slows Nearsightedness in Kids
The study: A systematic review and meta-analysis pooled 18 studies covering 2,438 kids and teens, comparing red light therapy and nutritional supplements against no treatment for slowing myopia progression.
What they found:
- Red light therapy significantly slowed eye elongation, the physical change behind worsening nearsightedness.
- Kids who got red light therapy also had less of a shift in their eyeglass prescription over time.
- Nutritional supplements showed only a small effect that wasn’t statistically significant by comparison.
What this means for you: If you’re looking into options for a child’s myopia, the evidence for red light therapy and eye health keeps building, though the studies varied a lot in how they measured results.
Diabetic Wound Healing Gets a Boost
The study: A small observational study in Brazil tracked 11 adults with diabetic foot ulcers, comparing standard wound care alone to standard care plus low-level laser therapy.
What they found:
- More than half the laser-treated ulcers healed completely, compared to just 1 in 6 in the standard-care-only group.
- None of the laser-treated wounds got worse, while one wound in the standard-care group did.
- The laser group also needed fewer clinic visits and healed faster on average.
What this means for you: This is a tiny, non-randomized study, so treat it as encouraging rather than conclusive, but it adds to a growing case for laser therapy as a low-cost add-on for hard-to-heal wounds.
Laser Therapy Speeds Recovery After Dental Implants
The study: A randomized trial of 272 adults getting a single-tooth implant compared five days of daily low-level laser treatment against no laser after surgery.
What they found:
- The laser group reported significantly less pain at every follow-up visit.
- Gum healing, inflammation, and bleeding all improved faster with laser treatment.
- Laser-treated patients lost slightly less bone around the implant and reported a better quality of life during recovery.
What this means for you: If you’re facing dental implant surgery, this well-run trial makes a solid case for asking your dentist about laser therapy as part of your recovery plan.
Sources
- Ortiz et al. “Laser Auriculotherapy for Anxiety Symptoms Across Diverse Populations: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2026. PubMed
- Domínguez-Morrás et al. “Non-Pharmacological and Non-Optical Interventions for Myopia Prevention and Control in Children: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” Children (Basel), 2026. PubMed
- Pires et al. “Low-level laser therapy and conventional treatment for diabetic foot ulcers: a case series.” Lasers in Medical Science, 2026. PubMed
- Sun et al. “Efficacy of Low-Level Laser Therapy on Soft Tissue Healing, Pain, and Bone Preservation After Dental Implant Placement: A Randomized Clinical Trial.” The International Journal of Oral & Maxillofacial Implants, 2026. PubMed
