Multiple sessions of antimicrobial photodynamic therapy associated with surgical periodontal treatment in patients with chronic periodontitis

Background This double-blind, randomized, controlled clinical trial assessed the efficacy of multiple sessions of antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) as an adjunct to surgical periodontal treatment (ST) in patients with severe chronic periodontitis (SCP). Methods Sixteen patients with SCP were treated with aPDT+ST (test group, TG) or ST only (control group, CG), in a split-mouth design. aPDT was applied at 0, 2, 7, and 14 postoperative days only in TG. All patients were followed up for 90 days after surgery. The following clinical and microbiological parameters were assessed: clinical attachment level (CAL), probing depth (PD), gingival recession (GR), bleeding on probing (BOP), plaque index (PI), and count of 40 subgingival microbial species (checkerboard DNA-DNA hybridization). Data were collected at baseline (preintervention), at 60 days (30 days after the end of non-surgical therapy), and at 150 days (90 days after surgery). Results A significant reduction in PD was observed at 150 days for the TG, when compared with the CG (P < 0.05). CAL gain was significantly higher in the TG at 60 and 150 days (P < 0.05). Changes in the subgingival microbiota were similar between the groups (P > 0.05), but the TG revealed a larger number of bacteria associated with periodontal disease at the end of the experiment compared with the CG (P < 0.05). Conclusion Multiple sessions of aPDT as an adjunct to surgical periodontal treatment significantly improved clinical parameters at 90 postoperative days.