Effects of Laser Therapy and LED Therapy on Elderly Individuals With Temporomandibular Disorder

Summary

Temporomandibular disorder (TMD) is described as a subgroup of orofacial pain with a set of signs and symptoms that involve the temporomandibular joint, masticatory muscles, ears and neck. TMD can occur unilaterally or bilaterally and approximately 70% of the population is affected with at least one sign. The disorder progresses with orofacial pain, muscle pain involving the masticatory and cervical muscles, joint noises (clicks and pops), joint block, mandibular dysfunction and headache. The etiology can be abnormal occlusion and/or posture, trauma involving local tissues, repetitive microtrauma, parafunctional habits and an increase in emotional stress. Studies have demonstrated that phototherapy is an efficient option for the treatment of TMD, leading to improvements in pain and orofacial function. The aim of the proposed study is to analyze the effects of low-level laser therapy and light-emitting diode (LED) therapy on pain and function in patients with TMD. Methods: A randomized, controlled, double-blind, clinical trial is proposed, which will involve 80 individuals between 40 and 70 years of age allocated to either a laser group or LED group submitted to twelve sessions of phototherapy. The Research Diagnostic Criteria for TMDs will be used to evaluate all participants. Pain will be measured using the visual analog scale. Orofacial function will be measured based on maximum vertical mandibular movement and muscle tension (determined through palpation of the masseter, temporal, frontal, sternocleidomastoid, suboccipital and trapezius muscles). Electromyographic analysis of the masseter and anterior temporal muscles will also be performed.

Conditions

• Laser and LED Therapy on Elderly Individuals With Temporomandibular Disorder

Interventions

RADIATION

Laser Therapy

The groups will be submitted to 12 sessions of phototherapy held twice a week for six weeks, during which only the researcher in charge of programming the phototherapy device will be aware of which treatment is being employed. However, the programmer will not participate in the execution of the treatments, evaluations or data analysis.

RADIATION

LED therapy

The groups will be submitted to 12 sessions of phototherapy held twice a week for six weeks, during which only the researcher in charge of programming the phototherapy device will be aware of which treatment is being employed. However, the programmer will not participate in the execution of the treatments, evaluations or data analysis.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Nove de Julho

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Sandra K Bussadori, PhD · University of Nove de Julho

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

QUADRUPLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

40 Years

Max Age

70 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2017-05-01

Primary Completion

2018-11-20

Completion

2018-12-20

Countries

• Brazil

Study Locations