Emerging role of photodynamic therapy as an adjunct to nonsurgical periodontal therapy on periodontal status and glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes: A clinical study

BACKGROUND: Periodontal disease is considered to be the sixth most common complication of diabetes mellitus (DM). Antibiotics (systemic and local) enhance the outcome of conventional mechanical debridement but frequent use of antimicrobials may develop resistance to microorganisms. To overcome this complicacy, the current study assessed the effectiveness of photodynamic therapy (PDT) in chronic periodontitis patients with type 2 diabetes when used as a combination therapy to standard periodontal therapy by assessing the various clinical and glycemic parameters. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 16 known cases of chronic Periodontitis patients who were suffering from type 2 DM were allocated into two groups. The test group (n = 8) was treated with standard scaling and root planing (SRP) along with PDT while the control group was treated with SRP alone. Various clinical parameters assessed were plaque index, gingival index, pocket probing depth, clinical attachment level, and Glycated hemoglobin level at baseline and 90 days after therapy. RESULTS: At the end of the study, both the groups showed improvements with regard to all clinical and glycemic parameters compared to baseline. However, the test group presented statistically significant favorable results (all P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Conventional periodontal treatment aided with PDT proved to be a beneficial therapeutic measure and effective alternative in patients with chronic periodontitis with diabetes when compared with standard periodontal therapy alone.