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ABSTRACT

Low-level laser therapy and oral mucositis in pediatric oncology: synopsis of systematic reviews

doi: 10.24875/j.gamo.M22000231

Full Article in PDF (English)

Terapia láser de baja frecuencia y mucositis oral en oncología pediátrica: sinopsis de revisiones sistemáticas

doi: 10.24875/j.gamo.22000020

Full Article in PDF (Spanish)


VOLUME 21 - NUMBER 4 / October-December (Review article / Artículo de revisión)


Jeniffer Cabeza-Valdebenito, Facultad de Odontología, Universidad Andrés Bello, Concepción, Chile
Constanza Pino-Palma, Facultad de Odontología, Universidad Andrés Bello, Concepción, Chile
Bernardita Fuentes-Palma, Facultad de Odontología, Universidad Andrés Bello, Concepción, Chile
Héctor Fuentes-Barría, Facultad de Odontología, Universidad Andrés Bello, Concepción, Chile



Oral mucositis (OM) affects children and young people with cancer treatment, where low-level laser therapy (LLLT) has been suggested as a preventive method. The objective of this article was to analyze, by means of a synopsis, the effects of LLLT on the prevention and treatment of the clinical picture of OM in a pediatric cancer population treated with radiotherapy and/ or chemotherapy. An electronic search of systematic reviews published between 2018 and 2021 was performed in the Medline database, Epistemonikos metasearch engine and the Google Scholar registry. The search strategy was “low-level light therapy AND oral mucositis AND pediatric patient”. 273 articles were found, analyzing two systematic reviews. LLLT was shown to reduce the risk of OM (OR = 0.50, 95% CI, 0.29 to 0.87), improving the clinical picture on the seventh day (RR = 0.90, 95% CI, 0.46 to 1.78) with few adverse events. LLLT seems to reduce the risk of OM and the severity of the condition, although more studies are required to identify an optimal dose.


Keywords: Low frequency laser therapy. Oral mucositis. Pediatric patient. Neoplasms.