Low intensity LED therapy in pain treatment during orthodontic movement – Clinical Study

Abstract

Introduction: Therapy with low intensity LED has been reported for its analgesic and anti-inflammatory effect. Objective: Analyze the pain symptoms after orthodontic tooth movement associated or not to coherent and non-coherent phototherapy. Method: Twenty nine volunteers (19.8±7.9 years) were divided into three groups: control (n=10), placebo (n=9) and LED (n=10, InGaAlP, 630±10nm, 14 J/cm2, 0.10W, 70s). The participants’ molars were orthodontically separated, and they were instructed to write down pain level using a visual analog scale between the separator placement and 168 experimental hours. Results: The LED group showed reduction in pain at two hours compared to the control group (72 hours). The placebo group presented a decrease of pain levels in relation the control group (6 and 120 hours). Conclusion: There was positive effect of phototherapy in the early stages of orthodontic movement without variation during the experimental period.