Laser therapy versus occlusal splint and local anesthesia injection in management of myofascial pain dysfunction syndrome.

Background: Myofascial pain disorders, affecting chewing muscles, require a multidisciplinary approach to reduce pain and impairment, requiring a combination of various methods and disciplines. The therapy objectives encompass reducing both pain and impairment.Aim: to compare and evaluate the effectiveness of using a flat occlusal splint, injecting local anesthesia, and laser application in the trigger points of the masseter muscle in managing myofascial pain dysfunction syndrome (MMDS)Materials and methods: Ninety patients aged 21-63 years old were selected and randomly assigned to three groups of 30 patients each. The guidelines of the Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (RDC/TMD) were adopted for diagnosis. Group 1 patients were treated with splint therapy, group 2 with local anesthesia injection, and group 3 with laser application. Patients were instructed to decrease muscle loading and prescribed oral pain killers.Results: showed significant statistical differences in all three groups, indicating a positive improvement in overall signs and symptoms. By the end of the 1-year follow-up period, there was no statistically significant difference between the splint and injection groups, but both showed significantly higher pain scores at rest and on opening than the laser group. Pair-wise comparisons revealed no statistically significant difference between the injection and laser groups, but both showed significantly lower MMO than the splint group.Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that the three methods proved to be effective in reducing the pain and improving the mouth opening in MPDS patients.