Evaluation of the additional benefits of low level lasers therapy as an adjunct to full mouth scaling and root planing in patients with diabetes mellitus

Aim: Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) is the current method, used in the treatment of hard and soft tissue injuries. LLLT has accelerating and enhancing effects on wound healing. This study was designed to explore the effect of LLLT as an adjunct to nonsurgical periodontal treatment in chronic periodontitis (CP) patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). Material and Methods: Twenty-two CP patients with type 2 DM were selected for the splitmouth clinical study. Gingival Index (GI), Plaque Index (PI) Clinical Attachment Level (CAL) and Probing Depth (PD) were recorded before treatment and 1, 3 and 6 month after treatment. Gingival Crevicular Fluid (GCF) samples were taken before treatment and, 1 week, 1, 3 and 6 month after treatment. Nonsurgical periodontal therapy was applied to control group. Laser group was treated with LLLT adjunctive to nonsurgical periodontal therapy. After the nonsurgical periodontal treatment, the test side was selected randomly and treated with LLLT four times (0th, 1st, 3rd and 7th days). Energy density was adjusted to 7.64 J/cm2. In statistical analysis 'Repated measure of Anova' was used within the groups while 'Paired T test' was used between the groups. Results: After therapy laser group showed significantly more improvement in PD (at 1st, 3rd and 6th month), GI (at 3rd and 6th month), CAS (at 6th month), IL-1 (at 3rd month) and GCF (at 1st, 3rd and 6th) compared to the control group, but PI showed no significant differences between groups. Conclusion: Adjunct use of 980 nm LLLT in CP patients with type 2 DM may provide additional clinical and biochemical benefit.