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Effectiveness of Laser Acupuncture for Reducing Pain and Increasing Mouth Opening Range in Individuals with Temporomandibular Disorder: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis

  • Alternative Treatments for Pain Medicine (C Robinson, Section Editor)
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Abstract

Purpose of Review

Laser acupuncture (LA) demonstrates promising results in the treatment of musculoskeletal disorders. However, its effects on temporomandibular disorder (TMD) are not yet fully understood. Thus, the aim of this systematic review and network meta-analysis was to assess the effectiveness of LA on pain intensity and maximum mouth opening range (MMO) related to TMD. A search was carried out in 11 electronic databases and references of included studies to locate randomized clinical trials (RCTs) that evaluated LA as a primary treatment for TMD. The risk of bias was assessed using the RoB 2 tool. Network meta-analysis was conducted on the MetaInsight platform, considering the pain intensity and counseling (C) as the outcome of reference. The GRADE system was used to assess the certainty of the evidence.

Recent Findings

Five studies evaluated pain intensity, four with a high risk of bias and one with a low risk. Two studies evaluated pain intensity on palpation (one with high and one with low risk of bias), and one study with high risk of bias evaluated MMO. Laser parameters were: 690–810 nm, 40–150 mW, and 7.5–112.5 J/cm2. Occlusal splint (OS) [− 2.47; CI 95% − 3.64, − 1.30] and Physiotherapy (PT) [–2.64; CI 95% − 3.94, − 1.34] reduced pain intensity compared to C. The ranking of treatments in order of effectiveness was PT > OS > LA > C > CR (craniopuncture). The certainty of the evidence was very low or low.

Summary

The data do not support the indication of LA for the treatment of TMDs and new placebo-controlled RCTs must be conducted to demonstrate its effectiveness more precisely.

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Data Availability

No datasets were generated or analysed during the current study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Federal University of Alagoas, Faculty of Dentistry, Maceió, AL, Brazil

    Maria Marcelly Lúcio Mota & Igor Hudson Albuquerque e Aguiar

  2. João Pessoa, PB, Brazil

    Anderson Silva de Lima

  3. University of Alagoas, Human Anatomy Sector, Institute of Biological and Health Sciences, Federal, Maceió, AL, Brazil

    Olavo Barbosa de Oliveira Neto, Eduarda Correia Moretti & George Azevedo Lemos

  4. Federal University of Paraíba, Postgraduate Program in Dentistry, João Pessoa, PB, Brazil

    Pâmela Lopes Pedro da Silva

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Contributions

The idea for the study was determined by ASL. The literature search and data extraction were performed by MMLM and IHAA. Data analysis was performed by ECMi and GAL. The work was written by GAL. ECM, OBON and PLPS critically reviewed the work.

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Correspondence to George Azevedo Lemos.

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Mota, M.M.L., Aguiar, I.H.A.e., de Lima, A.S. et al. Effectiveness of Laser Acupuncture for Reducing Pain and Increasing Mouth Opening Range in Individuals with Temporomandibular Disorder: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis. Curr Pain Headache Rep (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11916-024-01251-5

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