Objective: To gather and clarify the actual effects of low-level laser therapy on wound healing and its most effective ways of application in human and veterinary medicine.
Methods: We searched original articles published in journals between the years 2000 and 2011, in Spanish, English, French and Portuguese languages, belonging to the following databases: Lilacs, Medline, PubMed and Bireme; Tey should contain the methodological description of the experimental design and parameters used.
Results: doses ranging from 3 to 6 J/cm(2) appear to be more effective and doses 10 above J/cm(2) are associated with deleterious effects. The wavelengths ranging from 632.8 to 1000 nm remain as those that provide more satisfactory results in the wound healing process.
Conclusion: Low-level laser can be safely applied to accelerate the resolution of cutaneous wounds, although this fact is closely related to the election of parameters such as dose, time of exposure and wavelength.