Evaluation of the effects of low level diode laser and ozone therapies on wound healing following gingivectomy and gingivoplasty operations

Aim: The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of low level diode laser (LLDL) and ozone therapies on wound healing in patients with chronic inflammatory gingival overgrowth following gingivectomy and gingivoplasty operations. Material and Method: In this study, gingivectomy and gingivoplasty operations were performed after non-surgical periodontal treatment in 36 patients who are systemically healthy with chronic inflammatory gingival overgrowth. Patients were randomly divided into three groups: control (n=12), LLDL (n=12) and ozone (n=12). LLDL and ozone therapies were performed immediately after the surgery, on 3rd and 7th days. Clinical periodontal parameters including plaque index, gingival index, bleeding on probing and probing depth were measured three times: at baseline, after non-surgical periodontal treatment and four weeks after the operation. Wound healing was evaluated by using H2O2 test, MMS scale, bleeding on palpation and LTH wound healing index on 3rd, 7th, 14th and 28th days postoperatively. Results: In all groups, statistically significant decrease in clinical periodontal measurements was observed after the therapies (p<0.05). Although there was no significant difference between the groups in the evaluation of epithelialization by H2O2 test, epithelialization was completed in 3 patients in control group, 6 in ozone group and 8 in LLDL group on 14th day. LTH index scores were significantly higher in the LLDL group on 7th and 28th days compared to the control group and on14th day was statistically higher in both test groups than the control group (p<0.05). There were no significant differences between the groups in terms of bleeding on palpation and MMS scale (p>0.05). Conclusion: It was concluded that LLDL and ozone therapies applied following gingivectomy and gingivoplasty operations had positive effects on wound healing. Key Words: Gingivectomy, gingivoplasty, low level diode laser, ozone, wound healing