Lack of adjunctive benefit of Er:YAG laser in non-surgical periodontal treatment: a randomized split-mouth clinical trial.
OBJECTIVE
This split-mouth, randomized, clinical trial aimed to evaluate the efficacy of erbium-doped:yttrium-aluminium-garnet (Er:YAG) laser application in non-surgical periodontal treatment.


METHODS
A total of 27 patients underwent four modalities of non-surgical therapy: supragingival debridement; scaling and root planing (SRP)+Er:YAG laser; Er:YAG laser; and SRP. Each strategy was randomly assigned and performed in one of the four quadrants. Clinical outcomes were evaluated at 3 and 6 months. Subjective benefits of patients have been evaluated by means of questionnaires.


RESULTS
Six months after therapy, Er:YAG laser showed no statistical difference in clinical attachment gain with respect to supragingival scaling [0.15 mm (95% CI -0.16; 0.46)], while SRP showed a greater attachment gain than the supragingival scaling [0.37 mm (95% CI 0.05; 0.68)]. No difference resulted between Er:YAG laser+SRP and SRP alone [0.05 mm (95% CI -0.25; 0.36)].


CONCLUSIONS
The adjunctive use of Er:YAG laser to conventional SRP did not reveal a more effective result than SRP alone. Furthermore, the sites treated with Er:YAG laser showed similar results of the sites treated with supragingival scaling.
Rotundo
Roberto
R
Department of Periodontology, University of Florence, Firenze, Italy. roberto.rotundo@unifi.it
Nieri
Michele
M
Cairo
Francesco
F
Franceschi
Debora
D
Mervelt
Jana
J
Bonaccini
Daniele
D
Esposito
Marco
M
Pini-Prato
Giovanpaolo
G
D055113:Chronic Periodontitis / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000628:therapy; D003774:Dental Plaque Index; D003777:Dental Prophylaxis / Q000379:methods; D012534:Dental Scaling / Q000379:methods; D003807:Dentin Sensitivity / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005884:Gingival Hemorrhage / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000628:therapy; D005889:Gingival Recession / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D053844:Lasers, Solid-State / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D028022:Low-Level Light Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008409:Mastication / Q000502:physiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D010147:Pain Measurement; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010508:Periodontal Abscess / Q000209:etiology; D017622:Periodontal Attachment Loss / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000628:therapy; D010512:Periodontal Index; D010514:Periodontal Pocket / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000628:therapy; D016745:Root Planing / Q000379:methods; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014464:Ultrasonic Therapy