The effects of diode laser therapy as an adjunct to scaling and root planing in the treatment of aggressive periodontitis: A 1-Year Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate and compare the clinical, microbial, and inflammatory effects of a diode laser as an adjunct to scaling and rtxrt planing (SRP) versus SRP alone for the treatment of generalized aggressive periodontitis (GAgP). Methods: Using a split-mouth design, 31 patients with GAgP were enrolled in the study. The maxillary right and left quadrants were randomly assigned to SRP+diode laser or SRP alone. Patients were examined on a regular basis for clinical, microbiological, and inflammatory mediator changes over a 1-year period. Clinical attachment level (CAL) was the primary outcome variable chosen. In addition, subgingival biofilm samples and gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) inflammatory mediators were analyzed at each follow-up session. Results: Compared to baseline, both treatments demonstrated an improvement in periodontal parameters at 1 year. However, SRP+diode laser produced a significant improvement in probing depth (PD; 2.56 ±0.44 vs. 3.36±0.51 mm, p<0.05) and CAL (3.47 ±0.25 vs. 4.11 ±0.26mm, p<0.05) values compared to SRP alone. Similarly, in the SRP+diode laser group, the bacteria of orange complex group were significantly reduced at 30 and 60 days compared to SRP alone. Moreover, SRP+diode laser determined a reduction in mean GCF level of interleukin (IL)-1 p and IL-l/tfIL-10 ratio at 15 and 30 days compared to SRP alone (p<0.05). Conclusions: At I year, SRP+diode laser yielded a significant reduction in some clinical parameters, while microbial and inflammatory mediator changes were not significantly reduced compared to SRP alone.