AUTHOR=Adnan Ather , Yaroslavsky Anna N. , Carroll James D. , Selting Wayne , Juliano Amy F. , London Wendy B. , Sonis Stephen T. , Duncan Christine N. , Treister Nathaniel S. 

TITLE=The Path to an Evidence-Based Treatment Protocol for Extraoral Photobiomodulation Therapy for the Prevention of Oral Mucositis

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Oral Health

VOLUME=2

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/oral-health/articles/10.3389/froh.2021.689386

DOI=10.3389/froh.2021.689386

ISSN=2673-4842

ABSTRACT=<p>Oral mucositis is a painful complication of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for which photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) is a safe and effective intervention. Extraoral delivery of PBMT has clinical advantages over intraoral delivery but requires additional dosimetric considerations due to the external tissue layers through which the light must propagate before reaching the oral mucosa. Additionally, to date there has been no dose modeling study, a task essential to developing a justified treatment protocol. We review here some of the complexities surrounding extraoral photobiomodulation therapy and offer that may help guide researchers toward an evidence-based treatment protocol for the prevention of oral mucositis.</p>