Effects of low-power laser auriculotherapy on the physical and emotional aspects in patients with temporomandibular disorders: A blind, randomized, controlled clinical trial.

OBJECTIVES

This study evaluated the effects of low-power laser auriculotherapy (LA) on the physical and emotional symptoms of patients with temporomandibular disorders (TMDs), in comparison with occlusal splints (OS).

DESIGN

Randomized, blinded, prospective, non-inferiority clinical trial.

INTERVENTIONS: The patients received OS (control group) or LA (experimental group).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Following the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) guidelines, patients with TMD were evaluated by using axes I and II of the Research Diagnostic Criteria for RDC-TMD. Both intra- and intergroup quantitative variables were analyzed with ANOVA (p < 0.05), while qualitative variables were analyzed with the Kruskal-Wallis (intergroup evaluations; p < 0.05) or Mann-Whitney tests (intragroup analyses; p < 0.05).

RESULTS

OS improved five physical symptoms of TMD (pain in the right temporal muscle, right and left masseter muscles, left joint, and left intraoral region), while LA improved six (jaw functioning; pain in left masseter muscle, right and left joints, and right and left intraoral regions). Similarly, OS improved seven emotional symptoms (degree of depression, degree of non-specific physical symptoms, excluding pain, degree of non-specific physical symptoms including pain, average pain value in the past 6 months, presence of depression, intensity and characteristics of pain, non-specific physical symptoms including pain), while LA improved five (degree of non-specific physical symptoms including pain, presence of depression, intensity and characteristics of pain, non-specific physical symptoms including pain, non-specific physical symptoms excluding pain).

CONCLUSION

LA improved the physical and emotional symptoms of TMD, with results similar to OS.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE: For the physical and emotional symptoms associated with TMD, LA showed similar outcomes as OS.