BMC Oral Health. 2025 Mar 4;25(1):332. doi: 10.1186/s12903-025-05600-7.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: For more than 80% of patients with head and neck cancer, radiation therapy (RT) is a crucial component of their treatment plane which causes impairment for the masticatory apparatus functions leading to trismus. The study objective was to compare the efficacy of different treatment modalities for patients with RT-induced trismus on maximum mouth opening (MMO), visual analogue scale (VAS) (primary outcomes) patient satisfaction (secondary outcome).
METHODS: Thirty-six patients with trismus after radiation therapy were classified equally and randomly into three groups (n = 12 per group): Group A was given threaded tapered screw appliance therapy (TTSA), Group B was given low-level laser therapy (LLLT), and Group C was given both threaded tapered screw appliance and low-level laser therapy (LLLT + TTSA). Maximum mouth opening (MMO), visual analogue scale (VAS) and Gothenburg Trismus Questionnaire (GTQ) scores and time required to achieve normal state were evaluated at baseline, 1, 2, 4 weeks, 3 and 6 months after the intervention. Data were collected and analysed using SPSS software.
RESULTS: Regarding VAS and MMO, there was a statistically significant difference at different times of evaluation within all groups where (P <.0001). Regarding GTQ, group C recorded the least values for GTQ symptoms followed by group B followed by group A. Between groups A, B, and C at six months, there was a statistically significant difference for VAS. At three and six months, there was a statistically significant difference between all groups for MMO. At three and six months, there was a statistically significant difference between groups for all GTQ domains.
CONCLUSION: All available therapy modalities have the potential to effectively improve radiation induced trismus; however, the combination of TTSA and LLLT group appears to yield the most rapid and optimal enhancement.
CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRY NUMBER: (NCT06413628) (05/12/2024) Retrospectively registered.
PMID:40038715 | DOI:10.1186/s12903-025-05600-7
