Evaluation of low level laser therapy and lidocaine versus chlorohexidine for the management of traumatic oral ulcers in children: a randomized controlled study

TL;DR

This study compared laser therapy, lidocaine gel, and chlorhexidine mouthwash for treating mouth ulcers in children, finding laser therapy most effective for healing and pain relief.

Contribution

This paper introduces low-level laser therapy as a superior treatment for traumatic oral ulcers in children compared to conventional methods.

Findings

Low-Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) showed the greatest reduction in ulcer size compared to lidocaine and chlorhexidine.

LLLT provided significantly better pain relief over time compared to the other treatments.

Parental satisfaction was highest with LLLT, indicating strong acceptance of the treatment.

Abstract

This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of Low-Level Laser Therapy (LLLT), lidocaine (LC) gel, and chlorhexidine (CHX) mouthwash in the management of traumatic oral ulcers in children, with respect to ulcer size, pain relief and parental satisfaction. Thirty children aged 6–14 years with clinically diagnosed traumatic oral ulcers were randomly allocated into three groups (n = 10 each): Group I (LLLT), Group II (LC), and Group III (CHX). Ulcer size was measured using a calibrated periodontal probe, pain intensity was assessed with the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and parental satisfaction was evaluated using a Likert scale. Ulcer size reduction was greatest in Group I, followed by Group II and Group III, with statistically significant differences observed at day 5 (p = 0.0001) and day 7 (p = 0.0072). Group I also recorded the lowest VAS scores immediately, and at 2, 5, and 7 days (p = 0.0001) compared with the other groups. Parental satisfaction was significantly higher in the LLLT group compared with the LC and CHX groups (p = 0.006). LLLT demonstrated superior effectiveness in accelerating healing by reducing related size and pain in traumatic oral ulcers compared with LC gel and CHX mouthwash. Despite CHX being the standard approach for oral ulcer management, it showed the lowest efficacy. Parental acceptance of LLLT was high, with minimal discomfort related to treatment visits, supporting its potential as a favourable treatment modality in paediatric dental practice.

Trial registration: On August 16, 2025, this study was retrospectively registered on ClinicalTrials.gov under the identification number NCT07138586 with URL; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT07138586.

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