Effectiveness of Laser Acupuncture for Reducing Pain and Increasing Mouth Opening Range in Individuals with Temporomandibular Disorder: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis

Laser acupuncture (LA) demonstrates promising results in the treatment of musculoskeletal disorders. However, its effects on temporomandibular disorder (TMD) are not yet fully understood. Thus, the aim of this systematic review and network meta-analysis was to assess the effectiveness of LA on pain intensity and maximum mouth opening range (MMO) related to TMD. A search was carried out in 11 electronic databases and references of included studies to locate randomized clinical trials (RCTs) that evaluated LA as a primary treatment for TMD. The risk of bias was assessed using the RoB 2 tool. Network meta-analysis was conducted on the MetaInsight platform, considering the pain intensity and counseling (C) as the outcome of reference. The GRADE system was used to assess the certainty of the evidence.

Five studies evaluated pain intensity, four with a high risk of bias and one with a low risk. Two studies evaluated pain intensity on palpation (one with high and one with low risk of bias), and one study with high risk of bias evaluated MMO. Laser parameters were: 690–810 nm, 40–150 mW, and 7.5–112.5 J/cm². Occlusal splint (OS) [− 2.47; CI 95% − 3.64, − 1.30] and Physiotherapy (PT) [–2.64; CI 95% − 3.94, − 1.34] reduced pain intensity compared to C. The ranking of treatments in order of effectiveness was PT > OS > LA > C > CR (craniopuncture). The certainty of the evidence was very low or low.

The data do not support the indication of LA for the treatment of TMDs and new placebo-controlled RCTs must be conducted to demonstrate its effectiveness more precisely.