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Effects of light-emitting diode (LED) therapy on sensory changes in the inferior alveolar nerve after surgical treatment of mandibular fractures: a randomized controlled trial

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Abstract

Purpose

A randomized controlled trial was performed to evaluate the effects of light-emitting diode (LED) therapy on sensory changes in the inferior alveolar nerve after surgical treatment of mandibular fractures.

Methods

Patients admitted with surgically treated mandibular fractures between January 2018 and December 2019 were evaluated. Personal data, fracture location, fracture type, and dislocation degree were obtained. The cases were randomly allocated into two groups: LED therapy (LEDT) (57 points of 660 nm and 74 points of 850 nm, 6.4 mV/cm2, and 7.64 J) with the use of a prototype device and control (CTRL). For 6 months, tactile and thermal tests were used in the mental region. Data were analyzed using the Mann─Whitney U test and likelihood ratio test (p ≤ 0.050).

Results

The study included 42 patients, 25 of whom had bilateral fractures and 17 had unilateral fractures, totaling 67 fractures. The mean values of the tactile and thermal sensitivity tests were lower in the LEDT group in all evaluation periods. There was a significant difference between the groups in the parasymphysis location, displacement < 5 mm, and intraoral access. Sensory changes were observed in 68.7% of all fractures upon admission, with 91.2% in the LEDT group and 78.8% in the CTRL group demonstrating complete remission during the final period of the study.

Conclusion

LED photobiomodulation accelerated the process of sensory change remission. There was an influence of the fracture location, degree of displacement, and surgical access, with a better response in the LEDT group.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Hospital M. Dr. Arthur R. de Saboya, São Paulo, Brazil

    Vinícius Paes de Assis Santos & Washington Geraldo P. Rocha-Junior

  2. Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, School of Dentistry, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    Vinícius Paes de Assis Santos & João Gualberto C. Luz

Authors
  1. Vinícius Paes de Assis Santos
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  2. Washington Geraldo P. Rocha-Junior
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  3. João Gualberto C. Luz
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by Vinícius Paes de Assis Santos, Washington Geraldo P. Rocha-Junior, and João Gualberto C. Luz. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Vinícius Paes de Assis Santos and João Gualberto C. Luz, and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to João Gualberto C. Luz.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval

This study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. It received approval from the Human Research Ethics Committee of the Municipal Health Department of São Paulo (SMS/SP) (Protocol No. CAAE: 31690720000000086) (June 9, 2020).

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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The authors affirm that human research participants provided informed consent for publication of the images in Figure(s) 1, 2A, 2B and 3.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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de Assis Santos, V.P., Rocha-Junior, W.G.P. & Luz, J.G.C. Effects of light-emitting diode (LED) therapy on sensory changes in the inferior alveolar nerve after surgical treatment of mandibular fractures: a randomized controlled trial. Oral Maxillofac Surg 28, 185–193 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10006-022-01127-1

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