CO2 laser vaporisation in treating oral lichen planus: A split-mouth randomised clinical trial

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) laser vaporisation versus intralesional injection of triamcinolone acetonide (TA) in the management of oral lichen planus (OLP).

METHODS: A randomised clinical trial with a split-mouth design was conducted on 16 patients with bilateral symptomatic OLP lesions. One side was treated with CO 2 laser vaporisation, and the counterpart was treated with TA intralesional injection. The reticular-erythematous-ulcerative (REU) score, Thongprasom sign scoring (TSS), visual analogue scale (VAS) and lesion area were used to evaluate the lesions at weeks 0, 4 and 9. All participants were followed up for 9 months.

RESULTS: Reduction in the REU, TSS scores and lesion area from baseline to the end of treatment was significantly greater in the CO 2 group than in the TA group (p values were 0.001, 0.002 and 0.048 respectively). However, the reduction in VAS score did not differ between the two groups (p = 0.54). The recurrence rate was significantly higher in the TA group than in the CO 2 group (75% vs. 31.1%; p = 0.016).

CONCLUSIONS: CO 2 laser vaporisation was more effective than TA intralesional injection in managing OLP and decreased recurrence rates.