Introduction. Pemphigus vulgaris is a relatively rare, chronic, autoimmune
vesiculobullous disorder characterized by formation of intraepithelial
vesiculae and/or bullae in the skin and mucous membrane. Systemic steroids
are considered to be the standard first-line therapy for pemphigus vulgaris.
However, for patients unresponsive to standard therapy, the new treatment
modalities are being sought. Low-level laser therapy has been accepted as an
alternative or adjunctive treatment modality for many conditions in medicine
and dentistry. Therefore, this study was aimed at presenting the effects of
low-level laser therapy in the treatment of pemphigus vulgaris and to
emphasize the crucial role of dentists in early recognition and diagnosis of
pemphigus vulgaris. Material and Methods. The articles published until May
2013 were obtained from the Medline/PubMed online database, using following
search terms and key words: ?laser therapy? and ?pemphigus vulgaris?,
?low-level laser irradiation? and ?pemphigus vulgaris?, ?lasers? and
?pemphigus vulgaris? and ?pemphigus vulgaris?. Results. Low-level laser
therapy could result in immediate and significant analgesia and improved
wound healing within the observation period and follow-up. Furthermore, a
decrease in patients? discomfort as well as the absence of recurrence of the
pemphigus vulgaris lesions has been claimed. Conclusion. Even though
available literature suggests that low-level laser therapy can be efficiently
used in treatment of oral pemphigus vulgaris, either independently or as a
part of combined therapy approach, these results should be interpreted with
caution since there are no solid evidence-based proofs to provide the
guidelines for the treatment of pemphigus vulgaris with low-level laser
therapy. Therefore, further long-term randomized controlled clinical studies
are necessary in order to give any solid recommendations on the use of
low-level laser therapy in the treatment of pemphigus vulgaris.
The Effect of Low Level Laser Therapy on Pemphigus Vulgaris Lesions: A Pilot Study
