title: Non-surgical periodontal therapy assisted by potassium-titanyl-phosphate laser: a pilot study.
abstract: As the American Academy of Periodontology indicates, the treatment of chronic periodontitis should be achieved in the least invasive manner through non-surgical periodontal therapy. However, complete removal of subgingival plaque and calculus is hindered with increasing probing depth (PD) and furcation involvement using hand, sonic or ultrasonic instruments. Many authors have suggested that the use of laser as an adjunct to scaling and root planing (SRP) might improve the effectiveness of conventional periodontal treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate potassium-titanyl-phosphate (KTP) laser in non-surgical periodontal therapy. Seven hundred and thirty sites with probing depths of 4-6 mm were involved in the study. The sites were divided into four groups: control (SRP, chlorhexidine gel 0.5%), group A (SRP, chlorhexidine gel 0.5%, three sessions of KTP laser irradiation); group B (SRP, three sessions of KTP laser irradiation) and group C (SRP, irrigation with povidone-iodine 10%, three sessions of KTP laser irradiation). KTP laser was used with the following parameters: output power 0.6 W, time on 10 ms, time off 50 ms, 30 s per irradiation, fluence 19 J/cm(2). All the sites showed improvement in all clinical parameters. Clinical attachment loss (CAL), pocket probing depths (PPDs) and bleeding on probing (BOP), especially in the lased groups, showed significant results (P < 0.001). Our experience showed KTP laser to be a significant help in SRP; nevertheless, more studies are necessary to confirm our results.
authors: Department of Dental Sciences, School of Dentistry, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy. umberto.romeo@uniroma1.it
authors: Umberto
authors: U
authors: Romeo
authors: Gaspare
authors: G
authors: Palaia
authors: Ricciarda
authors: R
authors: Botti
authors: Valentina
authors: V
authors: Leone
authors: Jean-Paul
authors: JP
authors: Rocca
authors: Antonella
authors: A
authors: Polimeni
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D012534:Dental Scaling; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053844:Lasers, Solid-State / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D028022:Low-Level Light Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010510:Periodontal Diseases / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000628:therapy; D010514:Periodontal Pocket / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000628:therapy; D010865:Pilot Projects; D016745:Root Planing