CO2 laser vaporisation in treating oral lichen planus: A split‐mouth randomised clinical trial

• Published in: Oral diseases Vol. 30; no. 4; pp. 2306 - 2313
• Main Authors: Ibrahim, Rengin, Abdul‐Hak, Mahmoud, Kujan, Omar, Hamadah, Omar
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Malden Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01-05-2024
• Subjects: Carbon dioxide; Clinical outcomes; Clinical trials; CO2 laser; Injection; intralesional injection; laser vaporisation; Lasers; Lesions; Lichen planus; Mouth; oral lichen planus; Triamcinolone acetonide
• ISSN: 1354-523X; 1601-0825; 1601-0825
• DOI: 10.1111/odi.14669

Objectives
This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of carbon dioxide (CO2) laser vaporisation versus intralesional injection of triamcinolone acetonide (TA) in the management of oral lichen planus (OLP).
Methods
A randomised clinical trial with a split‐mouth design was conducted on 16 patients with bilateral symptomatic OLP lesions. One side was treated with CO2 laser vaporisation, and the counterpart was treated with TA intralesional injection. The reticular–erythematous–ulcerative (REU) score, Thongprasom sign scoring (TSS), visual analogue scale (VAS) and lesion area were used to evaluate the lesions at weeks 0, 4 and 9. All participants were followed up for 9 months.
Results
Reduction in the REU, TSS scores and lesion area from baseline to the end of treatment was significantly greater in the CO2 group than in the TA group (p values were 0.001, 0.002 and 0.048 respectively). However, the reduction in VAS score did not differ between the two groups (p = 0.54). The recurrence rate was significantly higher in the TA group than in the CO2 group (75% vs. 31.1%; p = 0.016).
Conclusions
CO2 laser vaporisation was more effective than TA intralesional injection in managing OLP and decreased recurrence rates.