Table 3.
Low-level laser therapy and control interventions in the included trials
| Author (year) | Physical therapy in the intervention group | Control group intervention | Frequency | Time points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pezelj-Ribaric et al., 2013 [36] | GaAlAs, 685 nm, 30 mW, 3.0 J/cm2, 100 s/point, irradiation area: 1 cm2, tip diameter: 2 mm | Inactive/placebo laser: the same time and the same points, but without power | 5 times per week |
Baseline 4 weeks |
| 2 | Spanemberg et al., 2015 [37] |
(1) LG1: GaAlAs, 830 nm, 100 mW, 5 J/point, 176 J/cm2, 3.57 W/cm2, 50 s/point (2) LG2: GaAlAs, 830 nm, 100 mW, 5 J/point, 176 J/cm2, 3.57 W/cm2, 50 s/point (3) RLG: 685 nm, 35 mW, 2 J/point, 72 J/cm2, 1.25 W/cm2, 58 s/point |
Sham LLLT: searching for similarities to the IR3 W and red laser groups; however, the tool received a plastic tip with a rubber interior that blocked radiation emission |
(1) LG1: once per week (2) LG2: 3 times per week (3) RLG: 3 times per week (4) CG: 3 times per week |
Baseline 10 weeks 8-week follow-up |
| 3 | Arbabi-Kalati et al., 2015 [26] | GaAlAs, 630 nm, 30 mW, 1 J/cm2, 10 s/point. Laser application points: 10 areas on the oral mucosa, 2 areas on the buccal mucosa on each side, 2 areas on the tongue, 2 areas on the floor of the mouth, 1 area on the soft palate, and 1 area on the hard palate | Inactive/placebo laser: the same period, the same areas but the laser was silent | twice per week |
Baseline 2 weeks |
| 4 | Sugaya et al., 2016 [38] | GaAlAs, 790 nm, 120 mW, 4 W/cm2, 6 J/cm2, 50 s/point, irradiation area: 0.03 cm2 | Inactive/placebo laser: the same procedures but the device turned off | twice per week |
Baseline 2 weeks 7, 14, 30, 60, and 90-day follow-ups |
| 5 | Valenzuela et al., 2016 [25] |
(1) LG: GaAlAs, 815 nm, 1 W, 4 s/point, 133.3 J/cm2; irradiation area: 0.03 cm2 (2) LG inf: GaAlAs, 815 nm inf, 1 W, 6 s/point, 200 J/cm2 irradiation area: 0.03 cm2 |
Sham LLLT: the same procedure but the laser turned off | once per week |
Baseline 4 weeks |
| 6 | Arduino et al., 2016 [22] | GaAlAs, 980 nm, 300 mW, 1 W/cm2, 10 J/cm2, 10 s/point, irradiation distance: 2 mm, area: 0.28 cm2, tip diameter: 6 mm. All the mucosal burning sites were irradiated | Clonazepam: suck half a tablet of 2 mg of clonazepam and hold their saliva near the pain sites in the mouth without swallowing for 3 min and then spit. This protocol has to be repeated three times a day for 21 days | 5 times per week |
Baseline 5 weeks 3, 8, and 12-month follow-ups |
| 7 | Sikora et al., 2018 [24] | GaAlAs, 830 nm, 100 mW, 12 J/cm2, irradiation distance: 5 mm, area: 1 cm2; switched on: 800 ms, switched off: 1 ms. Laser application points: the site in the mouth where burning symptoms | Sham laser: LLLT switched off | 5 times per week |
Baseline 2 weeks |
| 8 | Spanemberg et al., 2019 [39] | GaAlAs, 808 ± 5 nm, 200 mW, 1.97 W/cm2, 3 J/point, 15 s/point, irradiation area: 0.088 cm2. Laser application points: the tip of the tongue: 3 points; lateral border of the tongue: 4 points; dorsal surface of the tongue: 10 points; buccal mucosa: 8 points; labial mucosa: 5 points, hard palate: 8 points, soft palate: 3 points; gingiva or alveolar mucosa: 3 points by sextant | Inactive/placebo laser: the same protocol but the laser was deactivated. Neither the patient nor the researcher knew if the laser was activated or not | once per 2 weeks |
Baseline 8 weeks 2-month follow-up |
| 9 | Bardellini et al., 2019 [40] | K laser Cube 3, 660–970 nm, 3.2 W, 1–20 000 Hz, irradiation area: 1 cm2. The most painful areas in the oral cavity were irradiated | Inactive/placebo laser: the device was turned on but the handpiece did not work | once per week |
Baseline 10 weeks 1-month follow-up |
| 10 | de Pedro et al., 2020 [20] | Diode Laser Fox, 810 nm, 0.6 W, 1.2 W/cm2, 6 J, 12 J/cm2, 10 s/point, irradiation area: 0.5 cm2. Laser application points: 56 points (3 in the vestibular mucosa of the 4 quadrants, 4 in each lip mucosa, 6 in each of the two buccal mucosae, 6 in the hard palate, 4 on each lateral edge of the tongue, 6 in the dorsum of the tongue and 4 sublingual points) with a distance in between of 2 mm | Inactive/placebo laser: the same 56 points, 10 s per point, and the same number of sessions but the device turned off | twice per week |
Baseline 5 weeks 1 and 4-month follow-ups |
| 11 | Skrinjar et al., 2020 [23] | GaAlAs, 685 nm, 30 mW, 0.003 W/cm2, cumulative dose: 60 J/cm2; dose: 2 J/cm2, 5.20 Hz; irradiation distance: 5 mm, area: 3 cm2 | Inactive/placebo laser: the same treatment protocol but LLLT was done with an inactive laser probe which was only emitting the audio signal | 5 times per week |
Baseline 2 weeks |
| 12 | Barbosa et al., 2020 [27] | Visible low-level class 3B laser, 660 nm, 30 mW, 3 J/cm2, 10 s/point, irradiation distance: 10 mm, tip diameter: 3 mm | ALA: treated for 30 days with 600 mg ALA (3 tablets of 200 mg per day after meals) and 150 mg ranitidine for gastric protection (one tablet in the morning) | once per day |
Baseline 4 weeks |
| 13 | Scardina et al., 2020 [41] | BioLase Epic10, 805 nm, 4 W power, 60 mW continuous wave, 1200 J, 50 J/cm2, 166.7 mW/cm2, 300 s, irradiation distance: 40 mm. Laser application points: the upper labial mucosa, buccal mucosa, dorsal lingual surface, and lower labial mucosa | Inactive/placebo laser: the same sessions, the only difference was the non-emission of the laser | twice per week |
Baseline 4 weeks 2-month follow-up |
| 14 | Sun et al., 2021 [12] | Nd: YAG laser, 1064 nm; 100 mW, 3 J/cm2, 10 Hz, 30 s/point; irradiation distance: 6 mm, area: 1 cm2. Laser application points: the tongue was divided into 17 treatment regions and only areas of the tongue reported as symptomatic were irradiated | Inactive/placebo laser: instrument switched off | once per week |
Baseline 4 weeks |
LG Laser group, LG inf Infrared laser group, RLG Red laser group