Comparison of Photothermal and Photodynamic Diode Laser Therapy in Patients with Peri-implant Mucositis: A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND: To determine whether photodynamic laser therapy or photothermal laser therapy demonstrates greater improvements in the clinical signs of peri-implant mucositis as an adjuvant to mechanical debridement. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Electronic databases were used to select articles on February 10th, 2022. The clinical outcomes analysed were the plaque index (PI), probing depth (PD) and bleeding of probing index (BoP). The following PICO question was formulated: Among patients with peri-implant mucositis, does photothermal laser therapy (PT) demonstrate greater improvement in clinical inflammatory signs in comparison to antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) as an adjuvant to conventional therapy? RESULTS: Seven randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included in the systematic review. The clinical parameters were compared amongst all studies at baseline and 3-month follow-up appointment. aPDT reduced both PI and PD great than PT. PT showed greater reductions in BoP. CONCLUSIONS: Conclusions are difficult to generalize due to the heterogeneity in the methodology of the included studies. However, this systematic review suggests that aPDT alongside mechanical debridement demonstrated greater improvements in the PI and PD. Other factors besides the laser therapy itself may account for these findings. As for BoP index, PT demonstrated greater improvements due to its photo-biomodulating effects. Clinical Relevance: In patients with peri-implant mucositis, the combination of photothermal diode laser therapy and mechanical debridement entails promising results in treating and preventing the progression of the pathology. Key words:Peri-implant mucositis, Photothermal diode laser therapy, Photodynamic diode laser therapy, Bleeding on probing.