Low-level laser therapy and anesthetic infiltration for orofacial pain in patients with fibromyalgia: a randomized clinical trial

• Published in: Medicina oral, patología oral y cirugía bucal Vol. 23; no. 1; pp. e65 - e71
• Main Authors: de Souza, R-C-V, de Sousa, E, Scudine, K-O, Meira, U, de Oliveira E Silva, E, Gomes, A, Limeira-Junior, F-A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Spain Medicina Oral S.L 01.01.2018
• Subjects: Dentistry
• DOI: 10.4317/medoral.21965
• ISSN: 1698-6946; 1698-4447

To compare the analgesic effect of anesthetic infiltration of lidocaine 2% and low-level laser therapy (LLLT) by GaAlAs into tender points of patients with orofacial pain and fibromyalgia (FM). A randomized clinical trial was performed with adults (N=66) that were allocated into two groups (1:1): Group A received LLLT irradiation by Diode Laser GaAlAs (780nm) with expositions twice a week during six weeks and Group B was treated with anesthetic infiltration of lidocaine 2% without vasoconstrictor once a week for four weeks. The pain assessment included the Visual Analogic Scale (VAS) and tenderness to palpation. No dropout and adverse effect was observed during the study. The pain decreased significantly in each group after the treatment (p=0.0001, β=1.0), even though no statistical difference was found between both treatments (p=0.46, β= 0.82). The presence of tender points decreased after both treatments, with responsively in some types of masticatory muscles (p<0.05) except posterior temporalis muscle. The patients perception showed that both treatments were effective and a few patients reported that the treatment did not improve welfare. The LLLT by GaAlAs and anesthetic infiltration of lidocaine 2% were equally effective to control orofacial pain in FM individuals.