Effect of one and two sessions of antimicrobial photodynamic therapy on clinical and microbial outcomes of non-surgical management of chronic periodontitis: A clinical study

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to compare the effect of one and two sessions of antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) as an adjunct to scaling and root planing (SRP) on clinical and microbial parameters in patients with chronic periodontitis. METHODS: This study was conducted on 20 patients. The dental quadrants of patients were randomly assigned to SRP at baseline (group 1), SRP at baseline and one month (group 2), SRP plus aPDT at baseline (group 3) and SRP plus aPDT at baseline and one month (group 4). Probing depth (PD), clinical attachment level (CAL) gain, and bleeding on probing (BoP) were measured at baseline, and one and three months later. F. nucleatum counts were determined by PCR. ANOVA was used for the comparison of these variables between the groups. RESULTS: In all the groups, PD reduction and CAL gain increased significantly at 1- and 3-month intervals compared to baseline (P=0.001). At three months, the difference in PD between groups 1 and 3 was statistically significant (P=0.014). CAL gain between groups 2 and 4 at one month (P=0.016) and three months (P=0.001) wasstatistically significant. Reduction in F. nucleatum counts was not significant between the four study groups (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: A combination of two sessions of aPDT and SRP could improve CAL gain; however, further long-term studies are necessary in this regard.