Recent advancements in dentistry are developing ways to reduce chronic dental pain. One such approach is the LED phototherapy that presents significant efficacy in pain management after the introduction of the elastic tooth separators. The LED photography has a similar response but is cost-effective as compared to laser lights. The study conducted after approval of Institution Ethics Committee and evaluated the efficacy of IR LED phototherapy (λ846 ± 20 nm) in managing the dental pain during tooth separation.

A total of 40 patients including ten males and 30 females between 20 to 30 years who met the inclusion criteria were introduced with four sets of visual analog scales (VAS) after the insertion of the separating elastics to measure pain instantly, at 48 h, 72 h, and seven days. Patients were categorised into control and experimental groups. The experimental group went through 180 mW, 22 s, 4 J, 8 J/cm2, 0.36 W/cm2, spot of 0.5 cm2, spot diameter 0.8 cm  LED phototherapy at the corresponding times to which VAS performed. Both groups exhibited an elevation in pain 48 h after the elastic tooth separator insertion, a reduction in pain 72 h after its establishment and after 7 h attained the lowest level of pain. The experimental group always presented a statistically significant lower level of pain (p < 0.05), excluding the time of installation (T1) when compared to the control group.

The outcomes reflected a significant role of LED phototherapy in reducing pain associated with orthodontic procedures.