Non-surgical Periodontal Therapy with a New Ultrasonic Device or Hand Instruments

Objectives: The aim of this prospective, randomized, controlled clinical study was to compare the effectiveness of a newly developed ultrasonic device to that of scaling and root planing for nonsurgical periodontal treatment. Methods: Thirty eight patients with moderate to advanced chronic periodontal disease were treated according to an "one stage procedure" with either a newly developed ultrasonic device (Test) (Vector®, Dürr Dental, Bittigheim-Bissingen, Germany) or scaling and root planing (SRP) using hand instruments. Clinical assessments by plaque index (PlI), gingival index (GI), bleeding on probing (BOP), probing depth (PD), gingival recession (GR), and clinical attachment level (CAL) were made prior to and at 6 months after treatment. Results: The results have shown that at shallow sites (initial PD £ 3 mm) mean CAL changed from 3.1 ± 1.0 mm to 3.5 ± 1.3 mm (p < 0.001) and in the control group from 2.9 ± 1.1 mm to 3.6 ± 1.2 mm (p < 0.001). At moderately deep sites (initial PD 4-5 mm) mean CAL changed in the test group from 4.6 ± 1.2 mm to 4.2 ± 1.6 mm (p< 0.001) and in the control group from 4.8 ± 1.3 mm to 4.4 ± 1.5 mm (p<0.001). At deep sites (inital PD ³ 6 mm) mean CAL changed in the test group from 8.5 ± 1.9 mm to 7.9 ± 2.4 mm (p<0.001) and in the control group from 7.9 ± 1.6 mm to 7.2 ± 2.2 mm (p<0.001). No statistically significant differences in any of the investigated parameters were found between the two groups. Conclusions: Nonsurgical periodontal therapy with the tested ultrasonic device may lead to comparable clinical improvements than those obtained with conventional hand intruments. (The study was supported by Dürr Dental, Bittigheim-Bissingen, Germany).