Objective: To critically evaluate the literature and answer the question, "How effective is photobiomodulation treatment on pain control in patients with TMJ disorder?".
Methods: PRISMA, PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Embase databases were used for the personalized search strategy. For risk of bias, Rob 2.0 for randomized clinical trials and ROBINS-I for non-randomized clinical trials were used.
Results: Eighty-four articles were found and, after removing duplicates, seventy one studies were included for titles and abstracts. For a full reading, 30 articles were selected and, according to the eligibility criteria, 24 remained for qualitative analysis. The studies showed a low risk of bias. Due to the heterogeneity of the studies, it was not possible to perform a meta-analysis.
Conclusion: Photobiomodulation is an effective adjunct for the treatment of temporomandibular disorders, being a less invasive approach, safe, low-cost, and without side effects.
Keywords: Temporomandibular disorder; low-level laser therapy; photobiomodulation; systematic review.