Sonodynamic effect of hematoporphyrin monomethyl ether on ligature-induced periodontitis in rats

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to perform a histological evaluation of sonodynamic therapy (SDT) of hematoporphyrin monomethyl ether (HMME) on artificially induced periodontal disease in rats. METHODS: Submerging ligatures were placed at the subgingival region of the first maxillary molar in rats. Eighty rats were randomly assigned into four groups: group 1 received no treatment; group 2 was subjected to 50 μg/mL HMME alone; group 3 was treated with low-intensity ultrasound alone (1 W/cm(2)); and group 4 was treated with 50 μg/mL HMME plus ultrasound irradiation (1 MHz, 30 minutes). Ten rats in each group were euthanized at 7 and 15 days, and periodontal tissue samples were taken for histological examination. RESULTS: The animals treated by SDT showed less bone loss (P<0.05) at all experimental periods than the other three groups. No significant differences were found between the control and HMME groups (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that HMME-mediated SDT can effectively alleviate the periodontal tissue destruction in artificially induced periodontitis in rats. Hence, SDT may have good clinic potential as a noninvasive treatment of periodontal diseases.