Adjunctive Non-Surgical Therapy of Inflamed Periodontal Pockets During Maintenance Therapy Using Diode Laser: A Randomized Clinical Trial.
BACKGROUND
Numerous studies have documented the clinical outcomes of laser therapy for untreated periodontitis, but very few have reported on lasers treating inflamed pockets during maintenance therapy. The aim of this study is to compare the effectiveness of scaling and root planing (SRP) plus the adjunctive use of diode laser therapy to SRP alone on changes in the clinical parameters of disease and on the gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) inflammatory mediator interleukin-1β (IL-1β) in patients receiving regular periodontal maintenance therapy.


METHODS
This single-masked and randomized, controlled, prospective study includes 22 patients receiving regular periodontal maintenance therapy who had one or more periodontal sites with a probing depth (PD) ≥ 5 mm with bleeding on probing (BOP). Fifty-six sites were treated with SRP and adjunctive laser therapy (SRP + L). Fifty-eight sites were treated with SRP alone. Clinical parameters, including PD, clinical attachment level (CAL), and BOP, and GCF IL-1β levels were measured immediately before treatment (baseline) and 3 months after treatment.


RESULTS
Sites treated with SRP + L and SRP alone resulted in statistically significant reductions in PD and BOP and gains in CAL. These changes were not significantly different between the two therapies. Similarly, differences in GCF IL-1β levels between SRP + L and SRP alone were not statistically significant.


CONCLUSION
In periodontal maintenance patients, SRP + L did not enhance clinical outcomes compared to SRP alone in the treatment of inflamed sites with ≥ 5 mm PD.
['Nguyen|Naomi-Trang|NT|', 'Byarlay|Matthew R|MR|', 'Reinhardt|Richard A|RA|', 'Marx|David B|DB|', 'Meinberg|Trudy A|TA|', 'Kaldahl|Wayne B|WB|']
D000368:Aged D000369:Aged, 80 and over D003131:Combined Modality Therapy D012534:Dental Scaling D005260:Female D005500:Follow-Up Studies D005883:Gingival Crevicular Fluid D005884:Gingival Hemorrhage D006801:Humans D053583:Interleukin-1beta D054023:Lasers, Semiconductor D028022:Low-Level Light Therapy D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D017622:Periodontal Attachment Loss D010514:Periodontal Pocket D010518:Periodontitis D011446:Prospective Studies D016745:Root Planing D016037:Single-Blind Method D016896:Treatment Outcome
periodontitis lasers Clinical trial root planing recurrence therapeutics