Diode laser in periodontics: an in vivo study of bacterial reduction in periodontal pockets, as an adjuvant of conventional treatment

The use of high intensity Diode laser for bacterial reduction in subgingival microbiota as an adjuvant to no surgical periodontal treatment has been approached in several studies. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the bacterial reductíon and clínical changes after root scaling associated or not to Diode laser irradiation. This clinical trial was a blinded, randomized and consisted of 27 patients of both sex, mean age 48.5 years old, with chronic periodontites and pocket depth 2: 5mm. They received previous periodontal treatment, except for the experimental sites. The control group underwent manual scaling and the test group received the same treatment followed by the Diode laser irradiation (1.5W; Continuous Wave; 20sec), 1 mm less than the pocket depth in two weekly appointments one day after the scaling to avoid laser thermal damage. The clinical (Plaque Index, bleeding on probing, Pocket Depth, Clinical Attachment, Enamel-cement junction gingival marge Distance) and microbiologic (Total bacteria CFlJ, Black pigmented CFU, Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans) parameters were evaluated before and six weeks after the treatment. As a conclusion after the end of study, both groups demonstrated microbiological improvements six weeks after treatment without statistical differences between than. The clinical parameters, Plaque Index (PI) bleeding on probing (BP) showed clinical improvements for both group without difference between than.