Use of diode laser in oral submucous fibrosis with trismus: prospective clinical study

Introduction Oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF) in later stages invariably leads to trismus due to retromolar fibrosis and buccal mucosa involvement. Medical treatment has limited role once trismus is established. Various surgical methods have been used with varying success to relieve trismus. We used diode laser to relieve trismus. All patients were diagnosed to have OSMF with trismus. The results are quite encouraging. Study design Prospective clinical study. This study involved 8 patients between the years 2002 and 2006. Objective To evaluate the efficacy of laser to reduce trismus in OSMF Methods Laser with follow-up physiotherapy Conclusion Diode laser gave good result in all our patients. Diode laser is a less expensive and alternative method in group III and group IVA cases in whom bilateral temporalis myotomy and coronoidectomy are considered to be the only solution. This technique has less morbidity and is suitable for Asian population as it requires less hospital stay and less followup as compared to other surgical methods.