Using an Nd:YAG laser in conjunction with scaling and root planing (SRP) can significantly improve periodontal inflammation compared to SRP alone, according to a study in the Journal of Periodontology (August 2010, Vol. 81:8, pp. 1161-1166).
A team of Swedish researchers recruited 30 patients for this split-mouth, single-masked, randomized, controlled clinical trial. They randomly assigned the mandibular left or right side as the test side (SRP with water-cooled Nd:YAG laser treatment) or control side (SRP alone).
At baseline, gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) samples were taken from the test and control sides, and levels of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-8 and interleukin (IL)-1β, -4, -6, and -8 were measured, along with the plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI), and probing depth (PD).
One week after treatment, PD (p < 0.001), PI (p < 0.05), and GCF volume (p < 0.001) showed significant improvement on test sides compared to control sides. At three months, PD (p < 0.01), PI (p < 0.01), GI (p < 0.01), and GCF volume (p < 0.05) also showed significant improvement on test sides compared to control sides.
At the one-week follow-up and again at three months, IL-1β and MMP-8 levels were significantly reduced on test sides compared to control sides.
"In the short-term, SRP in combination with a single application of a water-cooled Nd:YAG laser significantly improves clinical signs associated with periodontal inflammation compared to treatment with SRP alone," the researchers concluded.
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