Phototherapy on the Treatment of Burning Mouth Syndrome: A Prospective Analysis of 20 Cases.

The aim of this study was to report the effect of laser phototherapy (LPT) on the treatment of burning mouth syndrome (BMS). This prospective clinical study reports on preliminary outcomes of twenty volunteers diagnosed with BMS who have undergone the conventional treatment prior to laser phototherapy. LPT consisted of weekly sessions of LPT (660 nm), for a period of 10 weeks. The laser protocol consisted of the following parameters: 40 mW, 10 J cm(2) and 0.4 J per point, irradiation time of 10 s. In all sessions, the burning intensity was evaluated with a 10 cm Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). The burning intensity evaluation by VAS was performed immediately before and after each LPT session. Nonparametric test of Wilcoxon was used for statistical analysis, considering a significance level of 5%. All volunteers reported reduced burning intensity in all sessions when compared to the previous one and reduction in VAS scores by up to 49% in the last clinical session when compared to the first session. When only the VAS baseline of the first session was compared with the consecutive sessions, there was a statistically significant reduction in VAS scores in almost all sessions. The LPT may be an alternative treatment for the relief of oral burning symptoms in patients with BMS.

He-Ne laser effects on blood microcirculation during wound healing: a method of in vivo study through laser Doppler flowmetry.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Low-intensity laser therapy (LILT) is widely used for wound healing promotion and its mechanism of action may be due to an enhancement of blood supply. The aim of this study was to evaluate blood flow alterations in a wound healing model, using laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) associated with a normalized perfusion parameter. STUDY DESIGN/MATERIALS AND METHODS: An injury was provoked in 15 rats and blood flow was measured periodically over a period of 21 days. Control groups were established to evaluate LDF and He-Ne laser effects on microcirculation. A 1 J/cm(2) dose was utilized, with 6 mW/cm(2) irradiance. RESULTS: The results demonstrated flow alterations provoked by lesion, and inflammatory response (P < 0.05). There were no statistical differences between groups. CONCLUSIONS: The results did not show a significant sustained effect on microcirculation with this He-Ne dose.