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Objectives: Evaluate the effect on the application of low level laser therapy, in patients that have been previously
intervened with a sagittal ramus split osteotomy and present neurosensory impairment due to this surgery, com
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pared with placebo.
Study
D
esign: This preliminary study is a randomized clinical trial, with an experimental group (n=17) which
received laser light and a control group (n=14), placebo. All participants received laser applications, divided after
surgery in days 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 14, 21 and 28. Neurosensory impairment was evaluated clinically with 5 tests; visual
analog scale (VAS) for pain and sensitivity, directional and 2 point discrimination, thermal discrimination, each
one of them performed before and after surgery on day 1, and 1, 2 and 6 months. Participants and results evalu
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ator were blinded to intervention. Variables were described with absolute frequencies, percentages and medians.
Ordinal and dichotomous variables were compared with Mann Whitney's and Fisher's test respectively.
Results: Results demonstrate clinical improvement in time, as well as in magnitude of neurosensory return for
laser group; VAS for sensitivity reached 5 (normal), 10 participants recovered initial values for 2 point discrimina
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tion (62,5%) and 87,5% recovered directional discrimination at 6 months after surgery. General VAS for sensitiv
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ity showed 68,75% for laser group, compared with placebo 21,43% (
p
-value = (0.0095). Left side sensitivity (VAS)
showed 3.25 and 4 medians for placebo and laser at 2 months, respectively (
p
-value = (0.004).
Conclusions: Low-level laser therapy was beneficial for this group of patients on recovery of neurosensory impair
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ment of mandibula
r nerve, compared to a placebo.
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