Comparison of Er,Cr:YSGG laser to minimally invasive surgical technique in the treatment of intrabony defects: Six-month results of a multicenter, randomized, controlled study.

Background: The purpose of this publication is to report on the six-month clinical results and patient-reported outcomes (PROs) comparing the surgical use of the erbium, chromium-doped: yttrium, scandium, gallium, and garnet (Er,Cr:YSGG) laser (ERL) and minimally invasive surgical technique (MIST) for the treatment of intrabony defects in subjects with generalized periodontitis stage III, grade B.

Methods: Fifty-three adults (29 females and 24 males; aged 19 to 73 years) with 79 intrabony defects were randomized following scaling and root planing (SRP) to receive ERL monotherapy (n = 27) or MIST (n = 26). Recession, probing depth (PD), clinical attachment level (CAL), treatment time, and PROs were assessed and compared for each treatment group. Clinical measurements were recorded at baseline, 4 to 6 weeks following SRP, and 6 months following surgical therapy.

Results: The following primary and secondary outcome variables were non-inferior with the following margins: CAL with a non-inferiority margin of 0.6 mm (p = 0.05), PD with a non-inferiority margin of 0.5 mm (p = 0.05). Recession with a non-inferiority margin of 0.4 mm (p = 0.05). Faster procedure times were found for ERL (16.39 ± 6.21 minutes) versus MIST (20.17 ± 5.62 minutes), p = 0.0002. In the first 2 to 3 days of post-therapeutic diary outcomes, subjects reported less bruising, facial swelling, and use of ice pack for the ERL group.

Conclusions: This is the first multicenter, randomized, masked, and controlled study demonstrating the ERL is not inferior to MIST in terms of clinical outcomes but is superior in PROs for the surgical treatment of intrabony defects.