Photodynamic therapy as adjunctive treatment of single-rooted teeth in patients with grade C periodontitis: A randomized controlled clinical trial

Background: The present study aimed to evaluate the adjunctive effect of an antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) protocol on single-rooted teeth of patients with grade C periodontitis.Methods: Sixty-four single-rooted teeth (14 patients) were included in each group of this double-blinded split mouth randomized clinical trial. The teeth were randomly divided into scaling and root planing + aPDT (test group) and scaling and root planing+sham aPDT (control group). The aPDT protocol consisted of incubation with 1% methylene blue for 5 min, rinsing, and application of a diode laser (wavelength of 660 nm, power of 100 mW) for 10 s. aPDT was repeated after 7 days. Bleeding on probing (BoP), probing depth (PD), gingival recession (GR), and clinical attachment loss (CAL) were recorded before and 3 months after treatment. A 5% significance level was adopted for statistical analysis.Results: Final PD was significantly (P = 0.02) lower in the test group (2.87 +/- 1.40 mm) compared to control (3.12 +/- 1.69 mm). The test group showed a significantly higher percentage of sites with PD <= 4 mm and concomitant BoP compared to control (91%x86%;P < 0.001). At sites with baseline PD>4 mm, final PD and CAL were significantly (P = 0.01) lower in the test group (4.11 +/- 1.66 and 4.89 +/- 2.49 mm, respectively) compared to control (4.88 +/- 1.99 and 5.89 +/- 2.74 mm, respectively).Conclusions: aPDT combined with scaling and root planning provided slightly better periodontal clinical results than the latter procedure alone, exerting a superior effect at sites with greater baseline PD. aPDT might be used as adjunctive treatment in grade C periodontitis affecting single-rooted teeth since it improves the response to conventional periodontal treatment.

Automated summary

This study aimed to determine the effect of antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) on single-rooted teeth of patients with grade C periodontitis. The results showed that the combination of scaling and root planning with aPDT provided slightly better periodontal clinical outcomes compared to scaling and root planning alone. The effect of aPDT was more apparent in sites with deeper initial probing depths. Therefore, aPDT may be considered as an adjunctive treatment for grade C periodontitis affecting single-rooted teeth.