Laser Acupuncture Therapy in Patients with Treatment-Resistant Temporomandibular Disorders

Abstract

ObjectiveTo investigate the clinical effects of laser acupuncture therapy for temporomandibular disorders (TMD) after ineffective previous treatments.MethodsA retrospective observational study was conducted in 29 treatment-resistant TMD patients (25 women, 4 men; age range, 17–67 years). Subjects were treated 3 times per week for 4 weeks with the Handylaser Trion (GaAlAs laser diode, 810 nm, 150 mW, pulsed waves), which delivered 0.375 J of energy (5 s) to ST7, ST6, and LI4 and 3 J (40 s) to each Ashi point, 7.5–26.25 J/cm2 in total. The visual analog scale (VAS) and maximal mouth opening (MMO) were evaluated before and after treatment.ResultsVAS analysis showed that the patients were free of pain at rest (endpoint) after 5.90±6.08 sessions of laser acupuncture for acute TMD and after 16.21±17.98 sessions for chronic TMD. The VAS score on palpation of the temporomandibular joint reduced to 0.30±0.67 for patients with acute TMD (p = 0.005) and to 0.47±0.84 for those with chronic TMD (p<0.001). The MMO significantly increased in patients with acute TMD (7.80±5.43 mm, p = 0.008) and in patients with chronic TMD (15.58±7.87 mm, p<0.001).ConclusionsOur study shows that laser acupuncture therapy improves the symptoms of treatment-resistant TMD. Further studies with a more appropriate design, involving long-term follow-up examinations in a larger patient sample, are needed to evaluate its efficacy.

Managing Pain with Laser Acupuncture

“…Sattayut and Bradley [41] compared low-and highgrade LA and found that high-grade LA, i.e., 820 nm, 107 J/cm 2 , and 300 mW, showed a superior treatment effect. More recently, Hu et al [42] clearly showed the therapeutic effects of LA in managing treatment-resistant TMD. In our literature review, another two clinical trials revealed the benefit of LA therapy for TMD patients [43,44].…”

Laser therapy on points of acupuncture: Are there benefits in dentistry?

“…Hu et al [18] conducted a retrospective observational study in 29 treatment-resistant TMD patients (25 women, 4 men; age range, 17-67 years). Subjects were treated 3 times per week for 4 weeks with a laser diode (wavelength of 810 nm).…”

“…To date, few studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of laser therapy on acupuncture points for dental procedures [4,[18][19][20][21][22][23]. Studies show that LA can be used in dentistry to treat temporomandibular dysfunction [4,[18][19][20][21]; myofascial pain [22]; gagging reflex [23].…”

“…Studies show that LA can be used in dentistry to treat temporomandibular dysfunction [4,[18][19][20][21]; myofascial pain [22]; gagging reflex [23]. Although the technique has been shown to be effective for the treatment and prevention of problems related to the stomatognathic system [3][4][5][6], there are still many open questions concerning technical parameters of this innovative technique.…”

Application of Low-Level Laser Therapy In Temporomandibular Joint Disorders: Literature Review

“…(10). DSLT'nin temporomandibular eklem (TME) şikayetleri olan hastalarda ağrı şiddetini azalttığı ve maksimum ağız açıklığını arttırdığı öne sürülmektedir (11). Bununla birlikte literatürde TMR'ın tedavisinde DSLT'nin kullanımına yönelik kabul edilmiş standardize bir protokol veya görüş birliği bulunmamaktadır (12).…”