Polarized Polychromatic Noncoherent Light (Bioptron Light) as Adjunctive Treatment in Chronic Oral Mucosal Pain: A Pilot Study

Objective: Aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of polarized polychromatic noncoherent light (Bioptron light) in the treatment of chronic oral mucosal pain (COMP). Patients and methods: Twenty-two patients affected by COMP were treated with standardized pharmacological protocols in association with Bioptron light (90 W; light wavelength = 480-3400 nm; degree of polarization = 95%; specific power density = 40 mW/cm 2 ; energy density = 2.4 J/cm). The outcome measures were intensity of pain [measured by visual analog scale (VAS) score] and signs reduction (measured by Eisen score) recorded at baseline (t 0 ), after 4 weeks (t 1 ), and after 8 weeks (t 2 ). Signs and symptoms scores were compared with those of a cohort of comparable patients selected from institutional medical record files. Results: Patients in pharmacological treatment associated with Bioptron showed a significant VAS score decrease at t 1 and t 2 (t 0 = 6.9, t 1 = 3.9, t 2 = 1.8, p < 0.05), whereas the patients in exclusive pharmacological treatment showed a significant VAS score improvement only at t 2 . Comparing the VAS score at t 1 and t 2 in the two groups, a significant improvement was recorded in patients undergoing Bioptron adjunctive treatment (t 1 = 3.9 vs. 5.9; p < 0.05 and t 2 = 1.8 vs. 3.6; p < 0.05). In both groups Eisen score improved at t 1 and t 2 , but in the Bioptron-treated patients the improvement was statistically better at t 1 (1.9 vs. 0.8; p < 0.05) and at t 2 (2.7 vs. 1.4; p < 0.05). Conclusions: In COMP patients, Bioptron use associated with pharmacological treatment allows a better and faster signs and symptoms reduction when compared with the exclusive pharmacological treatment. Further controlled studies are needed to establish the relative and absolute effectiveness of Bioptron in COMP management.