ABSTRACT
Objective:To investigate the clinical efficacy of low-energy laser in the treatment of erosive oral lichen planus (OLP) and its effect on patients' pain.Methods:Eighty-six patients with erosive OLP who were treated in Shanxian Central Hospital from February 2018 to January 2020 were included in this study. They were randomly divided into control and observation groups ( n = 43/group). The control group was treated by local injection of dexamethasone, and the observation group was treated with semiconductor low-energy laser irradiation. All patients were treated for 8 weeks. Pain scores and physical sign score before and after treatment were evaluated in each group. Therapeutic effects were compared between the two groups. Area of lesion was measured in each group. Recurrence of erosive OLP was calculated at 3 and 6 months after surgery. Results:Before treatment, there were no significant differences in visual analogue scale (VAS) score and physical sign score between the two groups (both P > 0.05). At 7, 14, 28 and 56 days after treatment, VAS score and physical sign score were significantly decreased in each group compared with those before treatment, and VAS score and physical sign score in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group (all P < 0.05). Total response rate in the observation group was significantly higher than that in the control group [93.02% (40/43) vs. 83.72% (36/43), χ2 = 1.81, P > 0.05). Before and 1 month after treatment, there was no significant difference in area of lesion between control and observation groups (both P > 0.05). At 3 and 6 months after surgery, area of lesion in the observation group was (0.31 ± 0.14) cm 2 and (0.32 ± 0.12) cm 2, respectively, which were significantly smaller than those in the control group [(0.42 ± 0.18) cm 2, (0.48 ± 0.19) cm 2, t = 3.16, 4.67, both P < 0.05). At 3 and 6 months after treatment, recurrence of erosive OLP in the observation group was 2.33% (1/43) and 13.95% (6/43), respectively, which were significantly lower than those in the control group [13.95% (6/43), 37.21% (16/43), χ2 = 3.89, 6.11, both P < 0.05]. Conclusion:There is no significant difference in the short-term efficacy of low-energy laser versus conventional corticosteroids in the treatment of erosive OLP. However, low-energy laser has a more obvious short-term pain relief effect than conventional corticosteroids. It can accelerate the healing of injured tissue and decrease the recurrence rate of erosive OLP.