A prospective randomized controlled trial to determine if cryotherapy can reduce the pain of patients with minor form of recurrent aphthous stomatitis.

BACKGROUND: Tissue cooling has long been used in the management of both acute and chronic pain. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the application of cryotherapy can reduce the pain of patients with minor form of recurrent aphthous stomatitis. STUDY DESIGN: Twenty adult patients who had 2 discrete aphthous stomatitides in the labial mucosa at the same time were included in this prospective, randomized, and placebo-controlled study. One of the 2 aphthous stomatitides was treated with cryotherapy, the other serving as a control. The pain of aphthous stomatitis was scored by the patient on a 6-point scale (from 0 to 5). The size of the aphthous stomatitis was also measured. RESULTS: At any interval, no statistical difference was found between the cryotherapy-treated aphthous stomatitis and the control in the change in the value of pain severity, nor was any statistical difference found in the change in the size of the aphthous stomatitis. However, a trend toward less pain in the aphthous stomatitis receiving cryotherapy was noted. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that application of cryotherapy on minor form of recurrent oral aphthous stomatitis has no beneficial analgesic effect compared to placebo.