SynthesisBMC oral health2023
Effects of low-level laser therapy on burning pain and quality of life in patients with burning mouth syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMC oral health, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 27 citations in OpenAlex.
- Advanced, pharmacological and complementary interventions for chronic or recurrent orofacial pain conditions: a systematic evidence map with selective meta-analyses.The journal of headache and pain · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of photobiomodulation on multiple health outcomes: an umbrella review of randomized clinical trials.Systematic reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of topically applied liquid N-acetylcysteine for the management of burning mouth syndrome.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- Trial
- Low-level laser therapy on soft tissue healing after implantation: a randomized controlled trial.BMC oral health · 2024Trial
- Photobiomodulation in the management of oral lesions: a targeted, evidence-based approach.Brazilian oral research · 2026Review
- Management strategies for burning mouth syndrome: a comprehensive review.Journal of oral & facial pain and headache · 2026Review
- Review
- Potential Target Receptors for the Pharmacotherapy of Burning Mouth Syndrome.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Studies on Burning Mouth Syndrome in the Past 20 Years: A Bibliometric and Visualised Analysis.International dental journal · 2025Review
- A scientometric study on research trends and characteristics of burning mouth syndrome.Journal of dental sciences · 2025Article
- Photobiomodulation therapy.JADA foundational science · 2025Review
- Long-Term Benefits of Photobiomodulation Therapy on Health-Related Quality of Life in Burning Mouth Syndrome Patients: A Prospective Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- Burning Mouth Syndrome Treated with Low-Level Laser and Clonazepam: A Randomized, Single-Blind Clinical Trial.Biomedicines · 2024Article
- The immediate pain relief of low-level laser therapy for burning mouth syndrome: a retrospective study of 94 cases.Frontiers in oral health · 2024Article
- Trends of burning mouth syndrome: a bibliometric study.Frontiers in neurology · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundBurning mouth syndrome (BMS) is a complex chronic pain disorder that significantly impairs patients' quality of life. Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) uses infrared or near-infrared light to produce analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and biological stimulation effects. The aim of this systematic review is to evaluate the effect of LLLT on burning pain, quality of life, and negative emotions in patients with BMS.
methodsThe PubMed, Embase, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and Scopus databases were searched up January 2023 to identify relevant articles. All randomized controlled trials that were published in English and examined the use of LLLT treatment for BMS were included. The methodological quality of the included trials was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool for randomized controlled trials (RCTs). A meta-analysis was performed to evaluate burning pain, quality of life, and negative emotions. Sensitivity, subgroup, and funnel plot analyses were also carried out.
resultsFourteen RCTs involving a total of 550 patients with BMS met the inclusion criteria. The results showed that LLLT (measured by the Visual Analog Scale; SMD: -0.87, 95% CI: -1.29 to -0.45, P < 0.001) was more effective for reducing burning pain than placebo LLLT or clonazepam. LLLT improved quality of life (evaluated by the Oral Health Impact Profile-14; SMD: 0.01, 95% CI: -0.58 to 0.60, P = 0.97) and negative emotions (evaluated by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; SMD: -0.12, 95% CI: -0.54 to 0.30, P = 0.59), but these effects were not statistically significant.
conclusionsThe meta-analysis revealed that LLLT may be an effective therapy for improving burning pain in patients with BMS, and producing a positive influence on quality of life and negative emotions. A long-term course of intervention, a larger sample size, and a multidisciplinary intervention design are urgently needed in future research.
trial registrationPROSPERO registration number: CRD42022308770.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.