Trial reportBMC oral health2023
The reliability of using light therapy compared with LASER in pain reduction of temporomandibular disorders: a randomized controlled trial.
Trial report in BMC oral health, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 18 citations in OpenAlex.
- Comparative effectiveness of nonpharmacological therapies for adult myogenic temporomandibular disorders: a network meta-analysis of randomized trials.BMC oral health · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of transcranial photobiomodulation in cerebral circulation and brain neural oscillations: a systematic review.Lasers in medical science · 2025Pooled it
- Efficacy of photobiomodulation therapy using 980 nm versus 635 nm diode lasers for treatment of myofascial pain : a randomized controlled trial.BMC oral health · 2025Trial
- Piano level laser therapy versus epidermal growth factor injection for painful myogenic temporomandibular disorder (a randomized clinical trial).Clinical oral investigations · 2025Trial
- Light therapy in medicine: where do we stand?Annals of translational medicine · 2026Review
- Diagnosis-based pathways for conservative and minimally invasive management of temporomandibular disorders: a scoping review.Journal of oral & facial pain and headache · 2026Article
- Dental publications on the treatment of temporomandibular disorders: A bibliometric analysis.F1000Research · 2026Review
- Pharmacological and non-pharmacological approaches to temporomandibular disorder chronic pain: a narrative review.Pain management · 2025Review
- Effectiveness of Laser Therapy in Treatment of Temporomandibular Joint and Muscle Pain.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Review
- Analysis of the Use of Sample Size and Effect Size Calculations in a Temporomandibular Disorders Randomised Controlled Trial-Short Narrative Review.Journal of personalized medicine · 2024Review
- Comparative Efficacy of Non-Invasive Therapies in Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction: A Systematic Review.Cureus · 2024Review
- Photobiomodulation Therapy on the Palliative Care of Temporomandibular Disorder and Orofacial/Cervical Skull Pain: Preliminary Results from a Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Novel Diagnostic and Therapeutic Approaches to Temporomandibular Dysfunction: A Narrative Review.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Efficacy of Photobiomodulation Therapy and Therapeutic Ultrasound in Temporomandibular Joint Disorder Patients - A Prospective Study.Annals of maxillofacial surgeryArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundTemporomandibular Disorders (TMD) refer to a group of symptoms where pain is the most leading cause to demand a treatment by the patient. Light therapies are of great importance at current times due to its biosafety and non-invasive quality when used for the management of TMD symptoms. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of red LED light with low-level LASER in treating TMD patients. MATERIALS AND
methodsA double-blind randomized clinical study was conducted and included 60 patients along 3 groups (20 for each group) presented with myofascial pain related to TMD. Patients were randomly divided into 3 groups. Group A were managed by applying the LED light device into the trigger points without switching the device on. A red LED light was given to group B for 5 min at the tender muscles. Group C were treated by using low-level LASER therapy for 30 s. Patients were evaluated for any improvements regarding the pain score, presence of trigger points, and trismus along 4 visits (1 week interval between each visit). Any side effects related to the 2 devices were also assessed.
resultsBoth group B and C patients showed a statistically significant improvement in the pain value (P < 0.05) at the 3rd and 4th visits when compared to group A. Regarding tenderness, there was a reduction in the number of trigger points in both study groups; however, the results were insignificant in group B. Statistics showed insignificant differences between group B & C patients regarding pain and number of trigger points at all visits (P > 0.05).
conclusionBoth LED light and LASER therapies could effectively relieve pain associated with myogenic TMD as there were no important differences between their outcomes. However, the biosafety and lower cost of the LED light device compared to the LASER should also be considered. Trial Registration This clinical trial was prospectively registered (TCTR ID: TCTR20190507002) on 07/05/2019. URL: http://www.thaiclinicaltrials.org/show/TCTR20190507002.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.