engleski

Burning mouth syndrome before and after treatmnet with low level laser therapy

Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) is reported by individuals as a sensation of pain and burning in the oral mucosa, most frequently affecting the tongue but also occurring in other regions of the mouth such as the lips, buccal mucosa, and floor of the mouth. The intensity of this sensation ranges from mild to severe. It is a clinical condition in a morphologically normal oral mucosa, without association with systemic disorders. The aim of this study was evaluate the effect of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) in the treatment of Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) patients. Twenty patients with oral burning sensation were included in the study. The patients were examined at the Oral Medicine Unit of the Medical Faculty University of Rijeka. The criteria for inclusion in the case group was BMS diagnosis and the absence of any systemic diseases or local oral factors that might be involved in the sensation of mouth burning. All patients were informed of the aims and procedures of the research, as well as of the fact that their medical data would be later used in the analysis. The individuals underwent complementary examinations (haemogram, blood glucose level and oestrogen level) and only those with normal values took part in the study group. Clinical examination was performed according to the standard clinical criteria. After initial evaluation and diagnosis, the patients were placed on LLLT. Patients were treated five days in week for four consecutive weeks with a 685 nm Ga-Al-As(Gallium-Aluminium-Arsenide) diode laser (Medio LASER Combi Dental, Iskra Medical, Ljubljana, Slovenia). Normal data distribution was determened using Shapiro-Wilkinson test. 20 patients , 5 male and 15 female, were included in the study. Mean age was 62.95 20.23 year (median 68.50). To test the difference of VAS values before and after the laser therapy, Wilcoxon Matched Pairs Test was used. To test the difference of VAS values between gender, before and after the laser therapy, Mann Whitney U Test was used. The differences were considered significant at p<0.05. Mean VAS value before laser therapy (6.6 2.44) was significantly higher than mean VAS value after the laser therapy (6.05 2.26 ; p=0.008). In female group mean VAS value was significantly reduced after the laser therapy (5.6 2.26), when compared to mean VAS value before the laser therapy (6.07 2.4 ; p=0.018). No significant difference in VAS values was observed before and after the laser therapy in male group (p=0.18). Also, no significant difference was detected when VAS values between male and female, before and after the laser therapy, were compared (p=0.077 and p=0.143 respectively). LLLT is noninvasive, quick and safe, nonpharmaceutical intervention that may be beneficial for patients with BMS. A number of studies have compared the biological effect of coherent and incoherent light, and all of them indicate that the effect of light from lasers is superior to noncoherent light. Many authors presented the opposite results of laser effectiveness in treatment of pain or inflammation, but the majority of the studies (about 85%) demonstrated that the reduction of pain is effective In this preliminary study, with a small sample size, mean VAS value before laser therapy was significantly higher than mean VAS value after the laser therapy. Our results may suggest that LLLT may be an efficacious choice of therapy in patients with BMS.

burning mouth; low level laser therapy

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