Comparison of the effect of photodynamic therapy and topical corticosteroid on oral lichen planus lesions.

Objective: In this study, the effect of photodynamic therapy with topical corticosteroid in oral lichen planus patients was compared. Material and Methods: In this randomized, double‐blind clinical trial, eight patients with bilateral oral OLP lesions were recruited. Toluidine blue was applied on the lesions of both sides; a 660‐nm diode laser InGaAlP was irradiated for 10 min (power: 25 mW, fluence: 19.23 J/cm2, probe cross section: 0.78 cm2) for three sessions. In the control side of the oral mucosa, only sham laser was used. Follow‐up sessions were held on weeks 3 and 7. In week 3, oral paste triamcinolone acetonide 0.1% was prescribed. Response rates were assessed clinically by VAS, Thongprasom sign scoring, clinical severity index, efficacy indices, and the amount of reduction in the size of the lesions. The Mann–Whitney test was used to evaluate the treatment outcomes. Results: In spite of the control side, all scores improved significantly between sessions 0 and 4 for the intervention side. The differences between the changes in almost all scores between sessions 0 and 4 in both the intervention and control sides were significantly considerable (p value <.05). Conclusion: Photodynamic therapy can be used as an alternative therapy alongside standard methods or as a new modality for refractory OLP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]