Use of low-level laser therapy to reduce postoperative pain, edema, and trismus following third molar surgery: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

This Systematic Review and Meta-analysis was conducted with the following PICOS question: patients undergoing third molar surgery (P) can benefit from low-intensity laser therapy (I) as compared to other postoperative management (C) to reduce pain, edema, and trismus (O), evaluated in previous randomized clinical trials (S). Databases used were PubMed, SCOPUS, Web of Science, and Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde, screening for studies published between 2015 and 2020. The meta-analysis was based on the standardized mean difference (SMD), under a 95% confidence interval (CI). 246 studies were initially included, and after the screening of data, 10 studies were selected for the final sample. The qualitative analysis resulted in favorable results for pain and edema management in most studies, whereas trismus remained controversial. Meta-analysis resulted in (SMD, -0.53; 95% CI, -0.82,-0.24), (SMD, -0.60; 95% CI, -0.81,-0.39), and (SMD, -0.62; 95% CI, -2.63, 1.39) for pain, edema, and trismus, respectively, indicating statistical success on pain and edema reduction, but not for trismus. LLLT can act on reducing postoperative pain and edema following third molar surgery, whereas, trismus remains not significantly changed.