Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of laser therapy in conjunction with a pharmaceutical approach to alleviate myofascial pain dysfunction syndrome. Background data: A few clinical studies have evaluated the analgesic effect of laser therapy on orofacial pain, most of which reported controversial results. Myofascial pain dysfunction syndrome (MPDS), trigeminal neuralgia, and atypical facial pain are the most common facial pain. Methods: A double-blind randomized controlled trial was designed to evaluate the therapeutic effect of GaAs laser (peak power 10 W; pulse frequency 3000 Hz; average power 0.012 W; wavelength 980 nm; irradiation duration 300 sec; and dose 12.73 J/cm ² ) on the management of common orofacial pain. The laser group ( n =30) received 10 sessions of treatment with GaAs laser. The control group ( n =30) was treated identically with sham laser. All patients received the appropriate pharmaceutical treatment as well. Visual analog scale (VAS) was recorded for all patients at baseline, and immediately, 2, and 4 months after the final treatment session. The qualitative variables among the groups were compared using the χ ² test. Results: Both groups demonstrated a significant reduction in pain with the progression of time ( p 0.05). Whereas laser therapy in the present study failed to show any significance over the control group, the role of covariates such as radiation parameters (wave length, dose) should not be overlooked. Conclusions: We found no significant level of efficacy for the GaAs laser in the management of common orofacial pain. Further studies are suggested to evaluate the efficacy of other types of lasers with different parameters in the management of orofacial pains.

Background: In this study, we aimed to evaluate the sex hormonal serum level in patients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis and compare them with healthy participants.Methods: This cross-sectional study was done on patients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis who had referred to Shiraz Dental Faculty, Oral and Maxillofacial Medicine Department during 2018–2019. The non -menopause women with recurrence of at least 3 lesions per year were enrolled in this study. The mean serum level of FSH, LH, PRL (prolactin), testosterone, DHT (Dihydrotestosterone), DHEA-S (Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate), estradiol and progesterone of 30 participants in each group of case and control were measured and compared. The data were analyzed by SPSS version 18 and independent T-test, Mann–Whitney U test, Spearman’s correlation coefficient test, Chi-square test and Fisher’s test.Results: The mean serum level of DHEA-S in patients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) was significantly lower than the control group (pvalue = 0.02). In addition to DHEA-S, the mean serum level of testosterone was lower in the evaluation group although this difference was not significant (pvalue = 0.057). Considering the effect of age on the mean serum level of sex hormones, our results revealed that only DHEA-S mean serum level was decreased by increasing the age of participants in patients with RAS (pvalue = 0.018). The number of participants with abnormal range of testosterone (pvalue < 0.0001) and progesterone (pvalue = 0.037) serum level was significantly more in patients with RAS. The frequency of RAS in a year did not show a significant relationship with the serum level of the evaluated hormones.Conclusion: The patients with RAS had a lower serum level of DHEA-S. The mean serum level of testosterone and progesterone was significantly abnormal in RAS patients.

Background: There are some factors which can affect preoperative patient anxiety such as the necessity of procedure, postoperative pain, and patient's conception of his body image. The aim of this study was to assess the relation of patients' preoperative anxiety and postoperative patients' satisfaction in dental implant surgery. Materials and Methods: Dental implants were placed in 40 patients (19 male and 21 female) who were referred to Dental Implant Surgery Department in Imam Reza clinic, during March–December of 2014 in Shiraz. The procedures were performed with or without bone regeneration. Preoperative anxiety was evaluated using Corah Dental Anxiety Scale, and postoperative satisfaction was determined on the basis of pain intensity, bleeding tendency, inability to eating, and overall satisfaction by filling a questionnaire in the 2^nd or 3^rd week after surgery. Data were collected and analyzed using Mann-Whitney test. Results: Preoperative anxiety was detected as high in 10%, mild in 85%, and moderate in 5% of patients. Anxiety and depression score did not differ in both genders. There was no statistical difference between neither level of anxiety nor depression in both high and low educated patients. Postoperative bleeding, difficulty in eating, and overall satisfaction was nearly the same in both genders. Statistical analysis demonstrated a lower pain level and higher pain threshold in men than women (P = 0.007). Patients' age was not related to anxiety, depression, amount of bleeding, pain, and difficulty in eating. Overall dental care satisfaction was similar in both men and women. Conclusion: The results of the study indicated that while anxiety does play a role in the perception of pain by patients undergoing implant surgery, overall patient satisfaction and post surgical outcomes did not significantly differ.