Efficacy of antimicrobial photodynamic therapy in the management of chronic periodontitis: a randomized controlled clinical trial.
AIM
To evaluate the potential of antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) as an adjunct to scaling and root planing (SRP) in the treatment of chronic periodontitis.


MATERIAL AND METHODS
In a single-centred randomized and controlled clinical trial, 90 patients (51 females and 39 males) with untreated chronic periodontitis were randomly assigned to receive SRP with aPDT (test group) or SRP alone (control group). Clinical parameters and halitosis were recorded for 6 months after treatment by a periodontist who was blinded to the procedure.


RESULTS
Inter-group and intra-group statistical analyses were performed. Significant difference between the two groups with respect to each variable was assessed using non-parametric Rank Order ancova. Probing pocket depth and clinical attachment levels showed statistically significant reduction in the test group on evaluation at 3 months and 6 months as compared to the control group (p < 0.05). A statistically significant improvement in gingival index and gingival bleeding index was seen for the test group after 2 weeks and 1 month of aPDT (p < 0.01), whereas the improvement in gingival index and gingival bleeding index at 3 months and in plaque index at 2 weeks after aPDT was less (p < 0.05). Also, a significant difference was detected for the test group at 1 month in terms of halitosis (p < 0.05), which did not persist for long.


CONCLUSIONS
Antimicrobial photodynamic therapy acts as a beneficial adjunct to SRP in non-surgical treatment and management of chronic periodontitis in short-term. Further studies are required to assess the long-term effectiveness of aPDT.
['Betsy|Joseph|J|', 'Prasanth|Chandra S|CS|', 'Baiju|Kamalasanan V|KV|', 'Prasanthila|Janam|J|', 'Subhash|Narayanan|N|']
D000328:Adult D055113:Chronic Periodontitis D003131:Combined Modality Therapy D003774:Dental Plaque Index D012534:Dental Scaling D005260:Female D005500:Follow-Up Studies D005889:Gingival Recession D006209:Halitosis D006801:Humans D054023:Lasers, Semiconductor D008297:Male D008751:Methylene Blue D017622:Periodontal Attachment Loss D010512:Periodontal Index D010514:Periodontal Pocket D010778:Photochemotherapy D017319:Photosensitizing Agents D016745:Root Planing
photodynamic therapy halitosis adjunctive periodontal treatment methylene blue periodontal disease randomized controlled trial