This study investigated the efficacy of combining low-level laser therapy (LLLT) with oral motor exercises (OM-exercises) for rehabilitation of patients with chronic temporomandibular disorders (TMDs). Eighty-two patients with chronic TMD and 20 healthy subjects (control group) participated in the study. Patientswere randomly assigned to treatment groups: GI (LLLT + OM exercises), GII (orofacial myofunctional therapy—OMT—which contains pain relief strategies and OM-exercises), and GIII (LLLT placebo+OMexercises) and GIV (LLLT). LLLT (AsGaAl; 780-nm wavelength; average power of 60 mW, 40 s, and 60± 1.0 J/cm²) was used to promote analgesia, while OM-exercises were used to reestablish the orofacial functions. Evaluations at baseline (T1), after treatment immediate (T2), and at follow-up (T3) were muscle and joint tenderness to palpation, TMD severity, and orofacial myofunctional status. There was a significant improvement in outcome measures in all treated groups with stability at follow-up (Friedman test, P<0.05), but GIV did not show difference in orofacial functions after LLLT (P>0.05). Intergroup comparisons showed that all treated groups had no difference in tenderness to palpation of temporal muscle compared to GC at follow-up (Kruskal-Wallis test, P<0.01). Moreover, GI, GII, and GIII showed no difference from GC in orofacial functional condition (T2 and T3) while they differed significantly from GIV (P<0.01). In conclusion, LLLT combined with OM-exercises was more effective in promoting TMD rehabilitation than LLLT alone was. Similar treatment results were verified with the OMT protocol.

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Keywords Temporomandibular disorders . Oral motor therapy . Low-level laser therapy . Rehabilitation . Orofacial functions

Authors: Barbara Cristina Zanandréa Machado & Marcelo Oliveira Mazzetto & Marco Antonio M. Rodrigues Da Silva & Cláudia Maria de Felício

This article originally appeared in https://link.springer.com/