Effectiveness of low-level laser as a treatment for pain management in arthrogenic temporomandibular disorders

Background: The multifactorial etiology of Temporomandibular Disorders (TMD) justifies the various therapeutic approaches. Low-level laser Therapy (LLLT) is a new treatment modality. The aim of this study is contrast the analgesic effectiveness of active and passive LLLT in the treatment of arthrogenic TMD. Methods: 15 patients (30 TMJs) with bilateral Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) arthralgia were included. Patients were assigned to two groups of treatment: active LLLT (Gallium-Aluminum-Arsenide laser) vs inactive LLLT (laser turned off). The treatments were evaluated at three, six, nine and twelve days after the first evaluation with registration of pain in Visual Analogue Scale. Results: Most patients were women, aged 33 years. In the right TMJ, pain decreased with both treatments without significant differences. However, the left TMJ had significant differences in both groups (p =0. 004) and the ANOVA test reported intragroup differences (p <0.000) in the left TMJ in the active LLLT. Conclusion: LLLT is an effective treatment for reducing pain associated with arthrogenic TMD, specifically in the left side. The likely explanation is that most right-handed patients prefer chewing on the right side. However, weaknesses of this study were not to consider the type of pain and the size sample.