Photodynamic therapy as an adjunctive to scaling and root planing in treatment of chronic periodontitis in smokers.

Objective: To compare photodynamic therapy (PDT) as an adjunctive treatment of chronic periodontitis with scaling and root planing (Sc/Rp) in smokers.

Methods: This is a split-mouth, single-masked randomized controlled clinical trial conducted at the Faculty of Dentistry, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia between May 2010 and March 2011. Fifty-four teeth with probing depth of ≥5mm at one or more periodontal sites in 20 smokers diagnosed with moderate to severe chronic periodontitis were selected. In each patient, at least one tooth was randomly assigned to Sc/Rp plus PDT (test group) and the contra-lateral tooth was assigned to Sc/Rp only (control). Plaque index (PI), bleeding on probing (BOP), probing depth (PD), recession and clinical attachment level (CAL) were recorded at baseline and 3 months after the periodontal treatment. Descriptive statistics and Wilcoxon signed ranked test were used for data analysis.

Results: There was a statistically significant improvement in PD, CAL, BOP, and PI after periodontal treatment in both groups. No statistically significant differences between the 2 groups in any of the periodontal parameters were found at baseline (p>0.05), but a statistically significant greater reduction in PD (p=0.028) and CAL (p=0.044) in the test compared to the control group was found at the 3-month follow up.

Conclusion: Photodynamic therapy might have an additional benefit to scaling and root planing when treating smokers affected with periodontitis.