Efficacy of Nd:YAG laser-assisted periodontal therapy for the management of periodontitis: A double-blind split-mouth randomized controlled clinical trial

Background This study aimed to explore the efficacy of Nd:YAG laser-assisted periodontal therapy for management of patients with stage II-IV periodontitis. Methods Patients who presented with residual periodontal pockets were enrolled. After non-surgical periodontal therapy (NSPT), test sites received Nd:YAG laser (first entrance to pocket: 3 W, 100 mu s, 20 Hz; second entrance: 4 W, 600 mu s, 20 Hz) and control sites received placebo (laser off). Periodontal probing depth (PPD), clinical attachment level (CAL), gingival recession (GR), bleeding on probing (BOP), and plaque index (PI) were recorded at baseline and 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6-month visits. Results Twenty patients completed the 6-month period. Significant reductions in PPD, CAL, BOP, and PI values and a significant increase in GR at all follow-up visits compared to the baseline (all P < 0.001) were revealed in both groups. Test sites showed significantly greater improvement in PPD (P = 0.0002) and greater increase in GR (P < 0.0001) compared to the control sites at 6-month visit. There was no difference between two groups regarding CAL gain through the study period (P = 0.23). Conclusion NSPT+Nd:YAG laser with the current protocol results in greater PPD reduction compared to NSPT alone. However, this reduction is likely because of greater GR rather than attachment gain. Therefore, the adjunction of Nd:YAG laser (with the current setting) to the NSPT for the treatment of residual periodontal pockets did not ameliorate the clinical outcomes (ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT03365167).

Automated summary

The study showed that Nd:YAG laser-assisted periodontal therapy resulted in significant improvement in PPD, CAL, BOP, and PI values, with the test group showing greater improvement in PPD and GR compared to the control group at the 6-month mark. However, there was no significant difference in CAL gain between the two groups.