A clinical effect of low-intensity-laser on chronic periodontitis treatment

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare clinical effects between the groups of moderate to advanced periodontitis patients treated with a combination of low intensity laser therapy (LILT) and scaling and root planing (SRP) to SRP alone. Method: A double-blind, randomized, split mouth control trial was conducted in 28 healthy patients with 5-8 mm periodontal pockets of the single root teeth locating at the contralateral side of jaws. The test group was treated with SRP and 790 nm Gallium Aluminium Arsenide laser at 14.42 J/cm2 irradiating the gingivae covering the periodontal pocket depth. The patients were laserd once a week for 3 weeks. The control group was treated with placebo LILT as the same procedure. Result: The results at post 4, 8 and 12 weeks after treatment showed the clinical improvement without side effect in both groups. After 4-weeks, relative attachment level (RAL) gained in both groups. A ratio of sites of attachment gain was 0.82 in the test group, and 0.68 in the control group. The results of the other times of follow up, RALs were similarly changed in both groups. Probing pocket depth (PPD), gingival inflammation index (GI) and plaque index (PI) were reduced in both groups. The statistical difference of RAL between the groups was analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA. There was no statistically significant differences between the groups (P=0.528). Wilcoxon signed ranks test was use for analyzing the differences of PPD, GI and PI at 4, 8 and 12 weeks after treatment. There was no statistically significant differences between the groups (P>0.05). Conclusion: LILT as adjunction of periodontal treatment had shown unclear clinical benefit over the conventional treatment. The further research is required for adjusting the appropriate dosage and frequency for gaining effective treatment of periodontal inflammation tissue.