Effectiveness of honey therapy combined with photobiomodulation in the treatment of oral lichen planus: a randomized placebo-controlled trial

Abstract

IntroductionOral lichen planus (OLP) is a chronic inflammatory disorder that commonly occurs in the skin and mucosa of the oral cavity. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of honey therapy (HT) combined with photobiomodulation (PBM) in the treatment of OLP.MethodsThe study involved 46 patients aged 40–55 (48.15 ± 6.28) years with erosive or atrophic OLP in the buccal mucosa. They were randomly allocated to 2 groups: study group (HT/PBM) (<i>n</i> = 23) and placebo group (golden syrup/PBM) (<i>n</i> = 23). Both groups received PBM (980-nm gallium-aluminium arsenide) with a power output of 0.3 W, 3 sessions per week for 4 weeks. At the same time, each patient in the study group was instructed to apply pure commercial honey, while patients in the placebo group were instructed to apply golden syrup, during the whole treatment period. All patients were assessed at baseline and after the treatment via visual analogue scale (VAS), oral function scores, and evaluation of OLP clinical manifestation.ResultsPatients in both groups were homogeneous in terms of age and gender, as well as the 3 clinical assessment values (<i>p</i> > 0.05) before the treatment. In the study group, post-treatment results regarding VAS (<i>p</i> < 0.0001), oral function scores (<i>p</i> < 0.0001), and OLP clinical manifestation (<i>p</i> < 0.05) were statistically significantly better than those in the placebo group.ConclusionsHT combined with PBM reduced pain and improved OLP clinical manifestation and oral function scores in patients with OLP.