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Acceptance and perceived efficacy of intraoral versus extraoral photobiomodulation for oral mucositis prevention in pediatric patients

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To compare acceptance, tolerability, and perceived efficacy of extraoral (EO) and intraoral (IO) photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) for oral mucositis (OM) prevention in pediatric oncology patients. METHODS: Caregivers of 32 pediatric patients undergoing chemotherapy completed a structured questionnaire after their children experienced both intraoral and extraoral PBMT for oral mucositis prevention during different chemotherapy cycles within a randomized clinical study. Device preference, discomfort, perceived pain control, and reasons for preference were descriptively analyzed. RESULTS: EO-PBMT was preferred by 65.6% of respondents, whereas 34.4% preferred IO-PBMT. Preference for EO-PBMT was mainly associated with greater comfort and avoidance of mouth opening. Discomfort was reported by 43.8% during IO-PBM and by 6.3% during EO-PBMT, with a statistically significant difference between the modalities (p = 0.001). IO-PBMT was more often perceived to provide better pain control (34.4%), whereas 12.5% favored EO-PBMT. CONCLUSION: EO-PBMT demonstrated greater caregiver acceptance and lower treatment-related discomfort than IO-PBMT. Although caregivers more frequently perceived IO-PBMT as providing better pain control, these subjective perceptions did not correspond to differences in the clinical occurrence or severity of OM between treatment modalities. EO-PBMT therefore represents a feasible and well-accepted approach for supportive care in pediatric oncology.

Source: Supportive Care in Cancer

DOI: 10.1007/s00520-026-11227-3