Wen-Long Hu
Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Taiwan
Title: Laser acupuncture therapy for temporomandibular disorders
Biography
Biography: Wen-Long Hu
Abstract
Objective: To investigate the clinical eff ects of laser acupuncture therapy for temporomandibular disorders (TMD) after ineffective previous treatments.
Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted in 29 treatment-resistant TMD patients (25 women, 4 men; age range 17‒67 years). Subjects were treated 3 times per week for 4 weeks with the Handylaser Trion (GaAlAs laser diode, 810 nm, 150 mW, pulsed waves), which delivered 0.375 J of energy (5 s) to ST7, ST6, and LI4 and 3 J (40 s) to each Ashi point, 7.5‒26.25 J/cm2 in total. Th e visual analog scale (VAS) and maximal mouth opening (MMO) were evaluated before and aft er treatment.
Results: VAS analysis showed that the patients were free of pain at rest (endpoint) aft er 5.90±6.08 sessions of laser acupuncture for acute TMD and aft er 16.21±17.98 sessions for chronic TMD. Th e VAS score on palpation of the temporomandibular joint reduced to 0.30±0.67 for patients with acute TMD (p=0.005) and to 0.47±0.84 for those with chronic TMD (p<0.001). Th e MMO signifi cantly increased in patients with acute TMD (7.80±5.43 mm, p=0.008) and in patients with chronic TMD (15.58±7.87 mm, p<0.001).
Conclusions: Our patients suff ering from treatment-resistant TMD symptoms improved aft er laser acupuncture therapy. Long-term follow-up and further studies with a larger patient sample and an appropriate design are needed to examine the efficacy.