Low-level laser therapy has an additional effect with SSe"Z open flap debridement on the treatment of stage III periodontitis: a split-mouth randomized clinical trial

Objective: The purpose of this randomized, controlled, split-mouth trial was to clarify the clinical efficacy of using low-level lasertherapy (LLLT) as an adjunct to open flap debridement in the treatment of periodontitis. Method and materiala: The studywasconducted on 10 patientswith stage III periodontitis. Clinical parameters were recorded for 70 sites of periodontal pockets at baseline and after 3 months and included Plaque lndex (PI), Gingival lndex (GI), bleedingon probing (BOP), prob-ing depth (PD), relative gingival recession (RGR), and relative attachment level (RAL), and evaluated postoperative pain and dental hypersensitivity. After open flap debridement, the sites were randomly divided into test sites receiving the low-level diode laser (wavelength 808 nm) and control sites treated with laser-off. The W i lcoxon test and Mann-Whitney U-test were used for intra-and inter-group comparisons, respectively, and the Friedman test to test between different periods. Results: Both treatments produced a reduction in GI, BOP, and PD, an in-creased RGR, and a gain in RAL between baseline and 3 months after surgery. There were significant improvements in GI, PD, and RAL after 3 months; postoperative pain after 24 hours and after 3days; and dental hypersensitivity after 1 week and 1 month of the surgery, which significantly decreased in the test group. Conclusion: Both groups were clinically effective in treating stage III periodontitis, with a significant preference in reduc-tion of GI and PD and gain of RAL, and decreased postoperative pain (after 24hours and 3days) and dentinal hypersensitivity (after 1week and 1month) for open flap debridement+LLLT. clinical relevance: The use of LLLT as an adjunct to open flap debridement improved the clinical indices, postoperative pain, and dentinal hypersensitivity better than open flap debride-ment alone in the treatment of stage III periodontitis.