Low intensity laser therapy in the treatment of temporomandibular disorders: a double‐blind study

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of low intensity laser therapy (LILT) in 30 patients presenting temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pain and mandibular dysfunction in a random and double-blind research design. The sample, divided into experimental group (1) and placebo group (2), was submitted to the treatment with infrared laser (780 nm, 30 mW, 10 s, 6.3 J/cm 2 ) at three TMJ points. The treatment was evaluated throughout six sessions and 15, 30 and 60 days after the end of the therapy, through visual analogue scale (VAS), range of mandibular movements and TMJ pressure pain threshold. The results showed a reduction in VAS (p < 0.001) and through the ANOVA with repeated measures it was observed that the groups did not present statistically significant differences (P = 0.2060), as the averages of the evaluation times (P = 0.3955) and the interaction groups evaluation times (P = 0.3024), considering the MVO. The same occurred for RLE (P = 0.2988, P = 0.1762 and P = 0.7970), LLE (P = 0.3265, P = 0.4143 and P = 0.0696), PPTD (P = 0.1558, P = 0.4695 and P = 0.0737) and PPTE (P = 0.2376, P = 0.3203 and P = 0.0624). For PE, there were not statistically significant differences for groups (P = 0.7017) and the interaction groups evaluation times (P = 0.6678), even so in both groups the PE varied with time (P = 0.0069).

Comparative effectiveness of Low Level Laser therapy and Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation on Temporomandibular Joint Disorders

“…A common mechanism such as an increase in regional blood flow and a decrease in the permeability of the nerve cell membrane and gate control theory of pain have been considered for both LLL and TENS devices to explain the similar tissue reactions. 8,9,11 One month after the last intervention, all parameters were evaluated again. As expected, the improvement rate was lower than for the most recently recorded status.…”

“…It usually excites tissues marked in red during treatment of musculoskeletal disorders with different radiation doses at infrared wavelengths. 9,10 Its pain control mechanism is not well known; reports suggest that this may occur due to increased release of endogenous epions, improvement of area microcirculation, or an increase in lymphatic flow which reduces edema, increases the production of ATP, and reduces the permeability of nerve cells membranes. 9,11,12 Several studies have been conducted on the application of TENS and LLL therapy in patients with TMDs with conflicting results.…”

Management of Temporomandibular Disorders with Low Level Laser Therapy

“…Some authors reported the efficacy of LLLT to be superior to placebo therapy [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] and other physical therapies , while, others found no significant differences between LLLT and placebo for the measures of TMJ pain [24][25][26]. However there is an advantage of using LLLT in the treatment of TMDs as it is non-invasive, cost effective and does not have any known side effects.…”

Efectos del Láser de Baja Intensidad (As-Ga-Al 904 nm) sobre el Cóndilo Mandibular de Conejos: Análisis a través de Tomografía Computadorizada Cone Beam

“…En el tratamiento de los trastornos temporomandibulares (TTMs) los resultados clínicos demuestran que el tratamiento por LBI es eficaz, siendo un método no invasivo indicado para el alivio del dolor agudo y especialmente del dolor miofascial crónico (Simunovic, 1996). Sin embargo, algunos investigadores señalan que el LBI presenta eficacia limitada en la reducción del dolor, no habiendo diferencias entre el grupo de pacientes con TTM tratados con LBI y el grupo placebo (Venancio et al, 2005;Emshoff et al, 2008;Chen et al, 2015).…”