The application of antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT, 670 nm) and diode laser (940 nm) as adjunctive approach in the conventional cause-related treatment of chronic periodontal disease: a randomized controlled split-mouth clinical trial

Objectives The aim of the present randomized controlled split-mouth clinical trial is to evaluate the effectiveness of the adjunctive use of photodynamic low-level laser therapy (670 nm), applying methylene blue as photosensitizer, and the effectiveness of a diode laser (940 nm) compared with conventional non-surgical mechanical treatment in a group of patients with chronic periodontal disease. Materials and methods Twenty-one patients with moderate to severe periodontal disease with presence of 3 or more quadrants, each containing at least three sites with periodontal pocket depth (PPD) of ≥ 5 mm, were included in the study. Periodontal treatment comprising scaling and root planing (SRP) was accomplished for the whole mouth. Applying a split-mouth design, each quadrant was randomly treated with SRP alone (control group), SRP with diode laser (diode group), and SRP with photodynamic therapy (photodynamic group). Results All treatment modalities in this study lead to statistically significant improvements in the evaluated clinical parameters at 3 months and 6 months compared with baseline. There was no statistically significant difference regarding PD and BOP between groups. There was only a tendency for greater reduction of PD in the diode group for deep pockets at 3 months, but not statistically significant. Conclusions After 6 months of evaluation, the high intensity diode laser and the antimicrobial photodynamic therapy have not shown any additional benefits to the conventional periodontal treatment. Clinical relevance The diode or photodynamic laser therapy in conjunction with conventional SRP does not seem to be superior in reducing probing depth and bleeding on probing than SRP alone 6 months after treatment. More studies are necessary to prove the actual need of these types of lasers in the periodontal clinical practice.