Evaluation of adjunctive effect of low-level laser therapy on pain, swelling and trismus after surgical removal of impacted lower third molar: A double blind randomized clinical trial

Abstract

Background and Aim: Wisdom teeth remains impacted in the jaw due to several reasons and surgery of impacted wisdom teeth is one of the most common surgeries in dental clinics. Pain, swelling and trismus are the common complications after this surgery which affect quality of life. In articles, various methods are introduced to control immediate inflammatory-response associated with third-molar surgery. The aim of this study is to evaluate the adjunctive effect of low-level laser Therapy on pain, swelling and trismus after surgical removal of impacted lower third molar. Materials and Methods: This double-blind randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted on two groups of 24 patients (age range of 18-35) that had referred to surgical ward of Faculty of Dentistry, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences for surgery of their mandibular third molar(2015-16). All the subjects were systemically healthy and had at least one impacted mandibular third molar. After surgery, in experimental group, the laser was applied intraorally (inside the tooth socket) and extraorally (at the insertion point of the masseter muscle) immediately after surgery in contact with the target area for 25 seconds each. The laser energy was 2.5 J per area with an energy density of 5 J/ cm2 at the surface of the probe (spot size= 0.5 cm2). In the other group, as the control group, it was pretended to radiate. Trismus, pain, and swelling were evaluated on the first and seventh days after surgery. The obtained data were evaluated using SPSS 16 software and independent samples T-test. Findings: In the group where LLLT had been used, P> 0.05 was calculated for pain, swelling, and trismus on days 1 and 7 after surgery that was not statistically significant. Conclusion: Under limitations of this study, using low-power laser with mentioned parameters, clinically reduces pain, swelling and trismus after surgical removal of impacted mandibular wisdom, but not statistically significant.