Management of pain in oral lichen planus patients: a comparative pilot study

Background Treating oral lichen planus (OLP) is a big challenge for clinicians. Despite numerous existing remedies, to date, no effective cure has been found, which is mainly attributed to the lack of understanding of the pathogenesis of the disease. Our aim was to compare the effectiveness of topical steroids and diode laser in treating OLP patients. Twenty-four patients with OLP were allocated into two groups of 12 patients each. One group was treated with a 970-nm diode laser applied twice weekly and the other group was treated with topical steroids applied four times per day. Patients were followed up for 2 months. Pain was recorded using the visual analog scale (VAS) and the clinical signs and symptoms were recorded using the reticular, atrophic, erosive (RAE) sores. Pain and RAE records were taken before treatment, after treatment, and after 2 months. Results When pain and RAE scores were compared before and after treatment, a significant lower pain score ( P = 0.020) and RAE scores ( P = 0.025) were observed in the steroid group than the laser group. No significant differences in pain ( P = 0.333) and RAE ( P = 0.06) scores were observed between both groups in the follow-up. No significant difference was seen between the improvement parameters in the two groups ( P = 0.117%), although better scores were seen in the steroid group. Conclusions Topical steroids reduce pain and RAE scores in OLP patients more than laser treatment. Trial registration NCT03572959 , Registration date: 30th June 2018, retrospectively registered