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Can a light beam ease jaw pain? laser therapy put to the test in TMD

NCT ID NCT07840495

Symptom relief Sponsor: University of Malaya Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

What the study statuses mean

This study's is highlighted.

Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed This study
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Sep 25, 2026 · Last updated Sep 25, 2026

Summary

Researchers are testing whether low-level laser therapy, added to standard care, reduces jaw pain and improves movement in adults with temporomandibular disorders. Participants receive either an active laser or a sham laser on tender jaw points during six sessions over two weeks, alongside ibuprofen, muscle relaxants, moist heat, and a soft diet. The trial measures pain during muscle palpation and jaw movements, plus how wide participants can open their mouths, at baseline, after each session, and at follow-up visits.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance
low-level laser therapy (LLLT)
What this could lead to
If it works, low-level laser therapy could become a drug-free add-on that helps people with jaw pain move and eat more comfortably.
What could go wrong
The trial is small, with 30 participants, and uses a sham laser for comparison. Laser therapy may add little beyond standard care, and results in this group may not apply to everyone with TMD.

This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.

Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Phase

Not a phased trial

Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.

Participants

30 people

The number who actually took part.

Started

Jan 2024

Finished

Aug 2025

Lead sponsor

Other sponsor

The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Ages

18 years and older

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Accepted

You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: 1. Patients aged 18 and above 2. Patients diagnosed with TMD utilizing Axis I of the DC/TMD 3. Patients diagnosed with TMD irrespective of the severity as screened utilizing the Fonseca Anamnestic Index (FAI) questionnaire form (APPENDIX D) 4. American Association of Anesthesiologists (ASA) Physical Status Classification I-II 5. Class I occlusion/malocclusion 6. Natural dentition patient with at least one pair of occluding posterior teeth on each side of the mandible Exclusion Criteria: 1. Patients who refuse participation/do not consent to the study 2. Patients presenting with any lesion or pathology over the TMJ region 3. Patients presented with TMD-like signs and symptoms secondary to non-TMJ origin (pain or infection of odontogenic origin, ear origin, neuralgia, migraine, atypical facial pain, etc.) 4. Patients that are presented with active infection involving the orofacial region 5. Patients with psychiatric and neurological disorders as confirmed by medical practitioners. 6. Patients with systemic or autoimmune disorders affecting the masticatory system, bones, and joints (rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis) 7. Patients that are contraindicated for the use of LLLT (malignant disease, ongoing radiotherapy, thyroid gland disease, epilepsy, light sensitivity, hemophilia, and other blood and clotting diseases, etc.) 8. TMD patients receiving physical or psychological treatment, and those who have been using muscle relaxants, anti-inflammatory agents (for at least seven days before study begins) or an occlusal appliance 9. Patients with a history of facial bone fractures 10. Patients on fixed orthodontic appliances, history of orthognathic surgery, or TMJ surgery 11. Patients with occlusal interferences, removable partial or total denture wearers, and fixed prostheses that are affecting patients' occlusion 12. Patients with an allergy to, or contraindication for, the use of NSAIDs 13. Pregnant patients

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

Pain temporomandibular joint disorder

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

Low level laser therapy Pain Physical therapy Temporomandibular joint disorders

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • Faculty of Dentistry, Universiti Malaya, Malaysia

    Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia

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