RESUMO
PURPOSE: The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate the effect of low-level laser therapy on pain, mandibular movements, and occlusal contacts in adolescents and young adults with temporomandibular disorder. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Individuals aged 14 to 23 years were evaluated. The Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders were used for the diagnosis of temporomandibular disorders. Pain was assessed with a visual analog scale. Occlusal contacts were recorded using the T-Scan III program (Tekscan, Boston, MA). The participants were randomly allocated to 2 groups: active or placebo laser treatment. The laser parameters were as follows: wavelength of 780 nm, energy density of 33.5 J/cm(2), power of 50 mW, power density of 1.67 W/cm(2), and 20-second exposure time. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used to determine the normality of the data distribution. The paired t test was used for the comparisons of the pretreatment and post-treatment results. The SPSS program for Windows (version 15.0; SPSS, Chicago, IL) was used for all analyses, with the level of significance set at 5% (P < .05). RESULTS: No statistically significant differences between groups were found for the right and left anterior temporal muscles (P = .3801 and P = .5595, respectively), superior masseter muscles (P = .087 and P = .1969, respectively), medial masseter muscles (P = .2241 and P = .076, respectively), or inferior masseter muscles (P = .5589 and P = .3268, respectively) after treatment. CONCLUSIONS: No statistically significant differences were found regarding pain, mandibular range of motion, or the distribution of occlusal contacts after treatment with low-level laser therapy. These preliminary results need to be verified in a larger sample of patients to confirm the lack of response to low-level laser therapy.