Effect of GaAlAs low-level laser therapy on mouth opening after orthognathic surgery

AbstractTo evaluate low-level laser therapy (LLLT) as an adjunct to enhance postoperative mouth opening after orthognathic surgery. Prospective clinical trial of 82 patients allocated into an intervention group (laser, LG) and a control group (no laser, CG) and subgroups according to the procedure type : (1) surgically assisted rapid maxillary expansion (SARME); (2) maxillary surgery; (3) mandibular surgery; or (4) bimaxillary surgery. LG patients received LLLT immediately after surgery and every 24  h thereafter for 3 days, using a gallium–aluminum–arsenide (GaAlAs) diode laser (780 nm, 28 spots, 14 on each side of the face, output power 2 J/spot). Maximum mouth opening was measured using digital calipers at five time points: preoperative baseline and postoperative days 2, 7, 14, and 2 1. ANOVA was used to evaluate difference in mouth opening across groups. Significance was accepted atP  ≤  0.05. Final average mouth opening differed between women (GL1 = 94.24%, GC1 = 89.54%, GL2 = 69.39%; GC2 = 68.46%; GL3 = 65.11%; GC3 = 58.64%; GL4 = 61.85%; GC4 = 57.11%) and men (GL1 = 86.92%, GC1 = 102.44%, GL2 = 77.56%; GC2 = 81.65%; G L3 = 80.29%; GC3 = 67.63%; GL4 = 66.93%; GC4 = 55.31%). There were no significant differences between the SARME and isolated maxillary/mandibular surgery groups. In the bimaxillary groups, average mouth opening was increased in all patients who received LLLT, significantly s...
Source: Lasers in Medical Science - Category: Laser Surgery Source Type: research