Abstract
The objective of this study was to test the clinical effectiveness of the combined gallium-aluminum-arsenide laser (GaAlAs; 785 nm) and superluminiscent diods (SLD; 633 nm) phototherapy (MedX 1100 device) for the treatment of 62 patients with 7 of the most common pain-related temporomandibular disorders with highest sensitivity and specificity according to diagnostic criteria DC/TMD. Using paired samples t-test a positive effect in the pain relief for all tested conditions was demonstrated. The most manifested and statistically significant reduction of pain was found in arthralgia attributed to osteoarthritis and systemic (rheumatoid) arthritis (p = 0.0000001), and disc displacement without reduction with limited opening (p = 0.0000002). Similar levels of pain reduction were found in arthralgia attributed to subluxation, myofascial pain with referral, local myalgia (p values vary between 0.000001 and 0.000284); the lowest values were recorded for myofascial pain (p = 0.001789) and hypermobility-related myalgia (p = 0.018443). The combined laser and SLD phototherapy can be defined as very effective treatment option particularly in pain reduction of internal derangement disorders as well as in some myogenic-related pain conditions affected by TMJ dysfunction.