Nd:YAG laser enhances SRP treatment
August 24,
2010 -- 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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