Efficacy of scaling and root planning with and without adjunct Nd:YAG laser therapy on clinical periodontal parameters and gingival crevicular fluid interleukin 1-beta and tumor necrosis factor-alpha levels among patients with periodontal disease: A prospective randomized split-mouth clinical study.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Limited evidence exists regarding the role of scaling and root planning (SRP) with adjunct neodymium yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) laser therapy in reducing periodontal parameters (plaque index [PI], bleeding on probing [BOP] and probing pocket depth [PPD]) and levels of proinflammatory cytokines in the gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) among patients with periodontal disease (PD). The aim was to assess the effect of SRP with and without adjunct Nd:YAG laser therapy on clinical periodontal parameters and GCF interleukin 1-beta (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) levels among patients with PD.

METHODS: Demographic data was collected using a questionnaire. Mandibular right and left quadrants were randomly divided into test- (SRP+Nd:YAG laser) and control-sites (SRP alone). PI, BOP and PPD were assessed and GCF IL-1β and TNF-α levels were measured at baseline and at 3- and 6-month follow-up. Level of significance was set at P<0.05.

RESULTS: Twenty-eight male patients with PD were included. At 3- and 6-month follow-up, PI (P<0.01), BOP (P<0.01) and PPD (P<0.01) were significantly higher in the control-sites than test-sites. In the test-sites, PI, BOP and PPD and GCF IL-1β and TNF-α levels were comparable at 3- and 6-month follow-up. At 6-month follow-up, IL-1β (P<0.05) and TNF-α (P<0.05) levels were significantly higher in control-sites than test-sites at 3- and 6-month follow-up.

CONCLUSION: At 3- and 6-month follow-up, SRP+Nd:YAG therapy was more effective in reducing periodontal inflammatory parameters and GCF IL-1β and TNF-α levels compared with SRP alone.