[Antibacterial effect of Nd:YAG laser in periodontal pockets decontamination: a in vivo study].
OBJECTIVE
Tha aim of this paper is to assess the effects in vivo of the Nd: Yag laser on gingival microflora in patients periodontally at risk.


METHODS
An investigation has been carried out on 5 patients suffering from serious periodontal disease, with a sub-gingival check-up a week after the treatment. The selected patients presented either a relapse after the raising of a traditional flap, or showed acute phenomena and were, therefore, treated with a laser with the propedeutic intention of surgery; or they refused traditional surgical therapy or presented systematic pathologies that could not be included in the appropriate protocol. Pockets were chosen that had a probe depth of between 5-8 mm, an optic fibre probe was pushed as far as possible into the probe depth, for about 1 minute per site, 5 times, at 30 second intervals. The samples, taken in order to calculate bacteria colonies, were carried out before using the laser, immediately after and, again, 1 week later.


RESULTS
All the sites showed a slight reduction in the quantity of colonies forming immediately after the Nd:Yag laser application, while a week later, only if clinical inflammation appeared to be resolved, the bacteria forming colonies seemed to be reduced.


CONCLUSIONS
From this study it can be concluded that the use of the Nd:Yad laser represents, in mild and average periodontitis, a therapeutic aid to scaling and root planing and, in the same way, in serious periodontitis for traditional surgical therapy.
Grassi
R F
RF
Dipartimento di Odontostomatologia e Chirurgia, Università degli Studi di Bari, Bari.
Pappalardo
S
S
Frateiacci
A
A
Scortechini
A
A
De Benedittis
M
M
Petruzzi
M
M
Frasca
M
M
D006801:Humans; D053685:Laser Therapy; D010514:Periodontal Pocket / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000532:radiotherapy*