Non-Cochrane · intervention · PM42542826
Analysis of the efficacy of photobiomodulation therapy in the treatment of oral lichen planus: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized and non-randomized clinical trials.
Martins Aragão Lívia Maria, Julião Costa Gabriella Alves, da Silva Janderson Fernando, et al. · Journal of clinical and experimental dentistry · 2026 · PubMed · doi:10.4317/jced.63975
Findings
Population Patients with symptomatic oral lichen planus, with or without skin lesions
33 findings
| Photobiomodulation therapy (low-level laser), alone or with pharmacological treatment | Conventional pharmacological therapy (corticosteroids or other drugs) | Disease severity (clinical lichen planus scores) All periods combined · Clinical trials of oral lichen planus · All evaluation periods pooled (SoF) | SMD 0.03 [-0.10, 0.15] Low Downgraded: imprecision, inconsistency 7 studies · 1533 participants |
| Photobiomodulation therapy (low-level laser), alone or with pharmacological treatment | Conventional pharmacological therapy (corticosteroids or other drugs) | Disease severity (clinical lichen planus scores) 120-180 days · Clinical trials of oral lichen planus · Evaluation period 120-180 days | SMD 0.47 [0.17, 0.77] GRADE not reported 2 studies |
| Photobiomodulation therapy (low-level laser), alone or with pharmacological treatment | Conventional pharmacological therapy (corticosteroids or other drugs) | Pain (VAS 0-10) 14 days · Clinical trials of oral lichen planus · Evaluation period: 14 days | MD -0.04 [-0.27, 0.18] GRADE not reported 5 studies · 216 participants |
| Photobiomodulation therapy (low-level laser), alone or with pharmacological treatment | Conventional pharmacological therapy (corticosteroids or other drugs) | Complete mucosal healing All periods combined · Clinical trials of oral lichen planus · All evaluation periods pooled (SoF) | RR 1.78 [1.22, 2.59] 159 [45, 324] per 1000 Low Downgraded: inconsistency 5 studies · 1146 participants |
| Photobiomodulation therapy (low-level laser), alone or with pharmacological treatment | Conventional pharmacological therapy (corticosteroids or other drugs) | Pain (VAS 0-10) Immediately after treatment · Clinical trials of oral lichen planus · Evaluation period: Immediately after treatment | MD 0.49 [-1.37, 2.35] GRADE not reported 4 studies · 138 participants |
| Photobiomodulation therapy (low-level laser), alone or combined with pharmacological treatment | Conventional pharmacological therapy (e.g., corticosteroids) | Complete mucosal healing Day 14 · Evaluation period D14 | RR 0.29 [0.07, 1.18] GRADE not reported 3 studies · 124 participants |
| Photobiomodulation therapy (low-level laser), alone or with pharmacological treatment | Conventional pharmacological therapy (corticosteroids or other drugs) | Complete mucosal healing 21 days · Clinical trials of oral lichen planus · Evaluation period: 21 days | RR 1.88 [0.52, 6.77] GRADE not reported 3 studies · 124 participants |
| Photobiomodulation therapy (low-level laser), alone or combined with pharmacological treatment | Conventional pharmacological therapy (e.g., corticosteroids) | Pain (VAS 0-10) Days 28-30 · Sensitivity: leave-one-out, first removal listed in text (Dillenburg 2014) | MD -0.57 [-1.13, -0.01] GRADE not reported 5 studies |
| Photobiomodulation therapy (low-level laser), alone or with pharmacological treatment | Conventional pharmacological therapy (corticosteroids or other drugs) | Pain (VAS 0-10) 7 days · Clinical trials of oral lichen planus · Evaluation period: 7 days | MD 0.05 [-0.16, 0.27] GRADE not reported 4 studies · 156 participants |
| Photobiomodulation therapy (low-level laser), alone or with pharmacological treatment | Conventional pharmacological therapy (corticosteroids or other drugs) | Pain (VAS 0-10) All periods combined · Clinical trials of oral lichen planus · All evaluation periods pooled (SoF, standardized) | SMD -0.23 [-0.41, -0.06] Moderate Downgraded: inconsistency 13 studies · 1902 participants |
| Photobiomodulation therapy (low-level laser), alone or with pharmacological treatment | Conventional pharmacological therapy (corticosteroids or other drugs) | Complete mucosal healing 28-30 days · Clinical trials of oral lichen planus · Evaluation period: 28-30 days | RR 1.76 [0.77, 4.00] GRADE not reported 4 studies · 164 participants |
| Photobiomodulation therapy (low-level laser), alone or with pharmacological treatment | Conventional pharmacological therapy (corticosteroids or other drugs) | Recurrence of lesions 60 days · Clinical trials of oral lichen planus · Evaluation period: 60 days | RR 0.15 [0.04, 0.65] GRADE not reported 3 studies · 132 participants |
| Photobiomodulation therapy (low-level laser), alone or with pharmacological treatment | Conventional pharmacological therapy (corticosteroids or other drugs) | Pain (VAS 0-10) 21 days · Clinical trials of oral lichen planus · Evaluation period: 21 days | MD 0.00 [-0.20, 0.19] GRADE not reported 4 studies · 156 participants |
| Photobiomodulation therapy (low-level laser), alone or with pharmacological treatment | Conventional pharmacological therapy (corticosteroids or other drugs) | Complete mucosal healing 21 days · Clinical trials of oral lichen planus · Evaluation period 21 days; leave-one-out: Ferri et al., 2021 removed | RR 4.00 [1.21, 13.22] GRADE not reported Studies not reported |
| Photobiomodulation therapy (low-level laser), alone or with pharmacological treatment | Conventional pharmacological therapy (corticosteroids or other drugs) | Complete mucosal healing 75 days · Clinical trials of oral lichen planus · Evaluation period: 75 days | RR 8.00 [2.59, 24.69] GRADE not reported 2 studies · 90 participants |
| Photobiomodulation therapy (low-level laser), alone or with pharmacological treatment | Conventional pharmacological therapy (corticosteroids or other drugs) | Complete mucosal healing 60 days · Clinical trials of oral lichen planus · Evaluation period: 60 days | RR 2.19 [0.48, 10.07] GRADE not reported 3 studies · 124 participants |
| Photobiomodulation therapy (low-level laser), alone or combined with pharmacological treatment | Conventional pharmacological therapy (e.g., corticosteroids) | Recurrence of lesions Day 75 · Evaluation period D75 | RR 0.85 [0.27, 2.60] GRADE not reported 2 studies · 90 participants |
| Photobiomodulation therapy (low-level laser), alone or with pharmacological treatment | Conventional pharmacological therapy (corticosteroids or other drugs) | Pain (VAS 0-10) All periods combined · Clinical trials of oral lichen planus · All evaluation periods pooled | MD -0.24 [-0.41, -0.06] Moderate Downgraded: inconsistency 13 studies · 1902 participants |
| Photobiomodulation therapy (low-level laser), alone or combined with pharmacological treatment | Conventional pharmacological therapy (e.g., corticosteroids) | Complete mucosal healing Day 7 · Evaluation period D7 | RR 0.33 [0.01, 7.65] GRADE not reported 3 studies · 124 participants |
| Photobiomodulation therapy (low-level laser), alone or with pharmacological treatment | Conventional pharmacological therapy (corticosteroids or other drugs) | Pain (VAS 0-10) 42-45 days · Clinical trials of oral lichen planus · Evaluation period: 42-45 days | MD -0.97 [-2.00, 0.05] GRADE not reported 2 studies · 84 participants |
| Photobiomodulation therapy (low-level laser), alone or with pharmacological treatment | Conventional pharmacological therapy (corticosteroids or other drugs) | Pain (VAS 0-10) 180 days · Clinical trials of oral lichen planus · Evaluation period: 180 days | MD -1.42 [-3.00, 0.17] GRADE not reported 2 studies · 82 participants |
| Photobiomodulation therapy (low-level laser), alone or with pharmacological treatment | Conventional pharmacological therapy (corticosteroids or other drugs) | Complete mucosal healing 28-30 days · Clinical trials of oral lichen planus · Evaluation period 28-30 days; leave-one-out: Ferri et al., 2021 removed | RR 2.75 [1.52, 4.97] GRADE not reported Studies not reported |
| Photobiomodulation therapy (low-level laser), alone or combined with pharmacological treatment | Conventional pharmacological therapy (e.g., corticosteroids) | Pain (VAS 0-10) Days 28-30 · Sensitivity: leave-one-out, second removal listed in text (Ferri 2021) | MD -0.45 [-0.88, -0.02] GRADE not reported 5 studies |
| Photobiomodulation therapy (low-level laser), alone or with pharmacological treatment | Conventional pharmacological therapy (corticosteroids or other drugs) | Complete mucosal healing 90 days · Clinical trials of oral lichen planus · Evaluation period: 90 days | RR 2.22 [0.58, 8.50] GRADE not reported 4 studies · 148 participants |
| Photobiomodulation therapy (low-level laser), alone or with pharmacological treatment | Conventional pharmacological therapy (corticosteroids or other drugs) | Complete mucosal healing 60 days · Clinical trials of oral lichen planus · Evaluation period 60 days; leave-one-out: Ferri et al., 2021 removed | RR 4.50 [2.06, 9.84] GRADE not reported Studies not reported |
| Photobiomodulation therapy (low-level laser), alone or with pharmacological treatment | Conventional pharmacological therapy (corticosteroids or other drugs) | Pain (VAS 0-10) Before treatment · Clinical trials of oral lichen planus · Evaluation period: Before treatment | MD -0.09 [-0.48, 0.30] GRADE not reported 10 studies · 390 participants |
| Photobiomodulation therapy (low-level laser), alone or with pharmacological treatment | Conventional pharmacological therapy (corticosteroids or other drugs) | Recurrence of lesions 90 days · Clinical trials of oral lichen planus · Evaluation period: 90 days | RR 0.48 [0.20, 1.18] GRADE not reported 3 studies · 123 participants |
| Photobiomodulation therapy (low-level laser), alone or with pharmacological treatment | Conventional pharmacological therapy (corticosteroids or other drugs) | Complete mucosal healing 45 days · Clinical trials of oral lichen planus · Evaluation period: 45 days | RR 3.00 [1.60, 5.64] GRADE not reported 2 studies · 90 participants |
| Photobiomodulation therapy (low-level laser), alone or with pharmacological treatment | Conventional pharmacological therapy (corticosteroids or other drugs) | Recurrence of lesions All periods combined · Clinical trials of oral lichen planus · All evaluation periods pooled (SoF) | RR 0.46 [0.25, 0.87] -77 [-107, -19] per 1000 High 3 studies · 435 participants |
| Photobiomodulation therapy (low-level laser), alone or with pharmacological treatment | Conventional pharmacological therapy (corticosteroids or other drugs) | Pain (VAS 0-10) 50-60 days · Clinical trials of oral lichen planus · Evaluation period: 50-60 days | MD -0.42 [-1.41, 0.58] GRADE not reported 5 studies · 180 participants |
| Photobiomodulation therapy (low-level laser), alone or with pharmacological treatment | Conventional pharmacological therapy (corticosteroids or other drugs) | Pain (VAS 0-10) 28-30 days · Clinical trials of oral lichen planus · Evaluation period: 28-30 days | MD -0.39 [-0.80, 0.01] GRADE not reported 6 studies · 218 participants |
| Photobiomodulation therapy (low-level laser), alone or with pharmacological treatment | Conventional pharmacological therapy (corticosteroids or other drugs) | Pain (VAS 0-10) 84-90 days · Clinical trials of oral lichen planus · Evaluation period: 84-90 days | MD -0.37 [-0.89, 0.15] GRADE not reported 6 studies · 226 participants |
| Photobiomodulation therapy (low-level laser), alone or with pharmacological treatment | Conventional pharmacological therapy (corticosteroids or other drugs) | Anxiety scores All periods combined · Clinical trials of oral lichen planus · All evaluation periods pooled (SoF) | SMD -0.12 [-0.40, 0.16] Low Downgraded: imprecision, inconsistency 2 studies · 414 participants |
Included primary studies 15
Open in Studies| Study | Year | Also included by | Outcomes it informs here | Trial data |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jain 2021 matched by author and year (probable) | NR | 1 other review | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Ai-Ping 2016 [Clinical effect of Nd:YAG laser combined with total glucosides of paeony for the treatment of erosive oral lichen planus]. PMID:27858075 | 2016 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Dillenburg 2014 Efficacy of laser phototherapy in comparison to topical clobetasol for the treatment of oral lichen planus: a randomized controlled trial. PMID:24887747 | 2014 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| El Shenawy 2015 A Comparative Evaluation of Low-Level Laser and Topical Steroid Therapies for the Treatment of Erosive-Atrophic Lichen Planus. PMID:27275271 | 2015 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Ferri 2021 Photobiomodulation is effective in oral lichen planus: A randomized, controlled, double-blind study. PMID:33012017 | 2021 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Jajarm 2011 A comparative pilot study of low intensity laser versus topical corticosteroids in the treatment of erosive-atrophic oral lichen planus. PMID:21214369 | 2011 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Kazancioglu 2015 Comparison of Low-Level Laser Therapy versus Ozone Therapy in the Treatment of Oral Lichen Planus. PMID:26512161 | 2015 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Laxmi 2015 matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Matsumoto 2019 Clinical Evaluation of CO2 Laser Vaporization Therapy for Oral Lichen Planus: A Single-Arm Intervention Study. PMID:31050948 | 2019 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Mirza 2018 Efficacy of photodynamic therapy or low level laser therapy against steroid therapy in the treatment of erosive-atrophic oral lichen planus. PMID:29414735 | 2018 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Mohamed 2024 Photobiomodulation versus corticosteroid in the management of erosive oral lichen planus: a randomized controlled clinical trial. PMID:38365694 | 2024 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Othman 2016 The effect of diode laser and topical steroid on serum level of TNF-alpha in oral lichen planus patients. PMID:27957272 | 2016 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Panchal 2023 Comparing the Effectiveness of Low-Level Laser Therapy and Topical Steroid Therapy Combination Regimen With Routine Topical Steroid… PMID:37750131 | 2023 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Salinas-Gilabert 2023 Photodynamic Therapy, Photobiomodulation and Acetonide Triamcinolone 0.1% in the Treatment of Oral Lichen Planus: A Randomized Clinical… PMID:36678659 | 2022 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Sanjay 2022 matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
Overlap with other reviews
Reviews that include the same primary studies are not independent evidence. Shared counts match studies by PMID, DOI or NCT, and otherwise by author and year (a probable match). Only the non-Cochrane dental reviews have study lists, so overlap with Cochrane reviews is not counted yet.
| Review | Shared studies | Jaccard |
|---|---|---|
| Bias, Study Quality, and Confounding in Temporomandibular Disorder Research Compared to General Orthodontic Studies: A Systematic Review… (2025) | 1 | 0.00 |
Review question
| Element | Planned (methods) | Found (results) |
|---|---|---|
| Population | Patients with symptomatic oral lichen planus, with or without associated skin lesions | Patients with oral lichen planus (n=890 across 15 studies) |
| Intervention | Photobiomodulation therapy, alone or combined with pharmacological treatment | Photobiomodulation therapy: diode, Nd:YAG, GaAlAs, GaAs and CO2 lasers; alone or with triamcinolone (n=15 studies) |
| Comparison | Conventional drug therapy | Corticosteroids (triamcinolone, clobetasol, dexamethasone, others), white peony glycosides |
| Outcomes | Clinical improvement of lichen planus lesions (pain, recurrence, quality of life scores) | Pain VAS (13 studies); disease severity (7); anxiety (2); mucosal healing (5); recurrence (3) |
| Study designs | Randomized and non-randomized clinical trials | 11 randomized and 4 non-randomized clinical trials (10 independent-group, 5 crossover designs) |
| Timing | Not specified | Follow-up from before treatment to 360 days |