The Efficacy of Low-Level Laser Therapy in Burning Mouth Syndrome – A Pilot Study

Abstract

SUMMARY – The aim of this clinical study was to compare low-level laser therapy (LLLT) switched on and switched off in the treatment of burning mouth syndrome (BMS). BMS is a debilitating condition for patients and highly demanding for physicians, characterized by burning symptoms in the oral cavity. Despite extensive research, so far only cognitive behavioral therapy and clonazepam have been proven successful for its treatment in randomized controlled trials. Forty-four patients with BMS were randomly assigned to the study laser group (LLLT) or the sham laser group. LLLT was performed with the GaAlAs laser (830 nm) used in non-contact mode on the site in the mouth where burning symptoms were present; study patients received 10 sessions (10 days). Each participant filled out the visual analog scale (VAS) and oral health impact on the quality of life scale (OHIP-CRO 14) before and after either therapy protocol. There were no significant differences between the groups before and after LLLT (switched on and off) in the quality of life (OHIP CRO 14 scores) (p>0.05). There was significant decrease in pain symptoms (VAS) in both LLLT switched on and LLLT switched off groups (p<0.05). Both LLLT switched on and switched off decreased pain symptoms (VAS) in patients with BMS; however, neither LLLT switched off or switched on improved the OHIP-CRO 14 scores.

Salivary Cortisol Levels and Burning Symptoms in Patients with Burning Mouth Syndrome before and after Low Level Laser Therapy: a Double Blind Controlled Randomized Clinical Trial

“…The patients also had a smaller number of burning symptoms after the therapy, which was confirmed by decreased VAS scores that were significantly lower after the LLLT in both groups. Similar results were obtained by Sikora et al (15) who also reported decreased VAS scores in BMS patients regardless of the laser probe being on or off.…”

Effects of photobiomodulation with low‐level laser therapy in burning mouth syndrome: A randomized clinical trial

“…Observing the results of the published RCTs (Arbabi-Kalati et al, 2015;Arduino et al, 2016;Barbosa et al, 2018;Sikora et al, 2018;Spanemberg et al, 2015Spanemberg et al, , 2019Valenzuela & Lopez-Jornet, 2017), LLLT is a successful treatment for management of BMS pain, but there are differences in the design studies and application protocols. With respect to the application protocol, we found an extreme variability in the dose applied: the dose varied from 1 J/cm 2 to 200 J/cm 2 .…”

“…Pain reduction was considered the primary outcome variable. The sample size was calculated considering the previous study performed by Sikora et al (2018) applying LLLT in similar parameters with a placebo group. In this study, the standard deviation (SD) of the pain improvement in placebo group in session 10, at the end of the treatment, was 2.918.…”

Clinical presentation of burning mouth syndrome in patients with oral lichenoid disease

“…In accordance with clinicopathological criteria previously established for OLD ( 12 , 13 , 16 ) 162 (74.7%) patients were classified as presenting with oral lichen planus (OLP) and 55 patients (25.4%) with oral lichenoid lesion (OLL). Table 1 shows the principal demographic data of the study as well as some clinical characteristics.…”

“…The IASP ( 9 ) continues to indicate that local and systemic causes must be ruled out in order to be able to establish a diagnosis of BMS, a principle which is shared by the majority of research studies carried out to date ( 16 - 18 ). Among the reported local causes are the oral diseases which can give rise to intraoral pain, such as OLD.…”