Low-level laser Therapy in the Management of Temporopandibular Joint Disorder

TMD is a complicated and prevalent disorder in the dental and Maxillofacial patients. Some of the clinical signs and symptom of TMD that involve the TMJ and its associated structure are pain, click and limited mouth opening. One of the modes of management is the use of low level laser therapy. LLLT for TMD has been controversial. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of LLLT in TMD patients. we performed a single-bind clinical trail on 48 TMD patients. The patients were randomly divided into experimental and placebo groups. In the study group, the patients were treated with LLL (980 nm, 80 Hz, 6 J) at tree points over the TMJ (ie, 2 J per point and 1.5 J at the other sites of muscle pain) for 1 min. in the placebo group, the laser device was adjusted in the same positions but without power emission. Effectiveness of LLLT for pain and clicking in the groups was evaluated. To compare the magnitude of click, the chi-square test was used, and for pain severity the Mann-Whitney U-test was used to analyze the results. the pain severity after treatment on day 4 in the experimental group was 2.4±1.36, which was significantly less than placebo group’s results of 4.4±1.84 (p < 0.001). Click reduction was 23.1% in the placebo group and 76.3% in the experimental group. The results were statistically significant for both pain and clicking without recurrence up to the 2-year follow-up period (p < 0.001). Low-level laser therapy (980 nm) was effective in management of TMD signs and symptoms and induced considerable reduction or elimination of pain severity and clicking. LLL applications can be an effective mode of management for selected patients with TMD.