Evaluation of clinical and biochemical efficacy of erbium, chromium: ytrium-scandium-gallium-garnet (ER, CR: YSGG) laser in periodontitis

Objective: The objective of this study is to evaluate the clinical and biochemical efficacy of Er,Cr:YSGG laser application in addition to non-surgical periodontal treatment in chronic periodontitis patients. Method: The study was a single-center, randomized, split-mouth, single-masked, controlled clinical trial of 6-month duration. 27 patients who were classified as moderate to advanced chronic periodontitis were included in the study. Participant inclusion criteria were the presence of at least two bilateral maxillary single root premolar teeth with ≥5 mm probing depth. The teeth on the laser group were treated debridement and laser treatment, whereas the control group was treated with debridement alone. The groups were randomly determined by a coin toss after debridement. The treatment was performed in two sessions, with intervals of 1 week between sessions. The clinical measurements were performed at baseline and after 1, 3 and 6 months. The following clinical parameters: plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI), probing depth (PD), clinical attachment level (CAL), bleeding on probing (BOP) and gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) sample were measured. The amounts of IL-1β and MMP-8 in DOS were estimated by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Laser groups were treated with an Er,Cr:YSGG laser with RFPT 5-14 tip. The settings were used as 1,5 Watt, 30 Hz, 11% air, 20% H2O, H-mode (pulse duration: 140 𝜇𝜇s). To compare clinical and laboratory findings between groups, mix ANOVA test was used. The statistically significant differences were evaluated with the Bonferroni test. Results: Both treatments resulted in statistically significant clinical improvements (P >0.05). PD, CAL, PI, BOP clinical measurements were found statistically similar in the control group and laser group (P <0.05). 1. and 3.month GI and 1.month BOP laser group measurament were statistically significantly different compared to control group. The amounts of IL-1β and MMP-8 parameters were found statistically similar in the control group and the laser group (P <0.05). Conclusion: Er,Cr:YSGG laser and non-surgical periodontal treatments showed significant improvements regarding the clinical parameters to the baseline, but only GI 1. and 3. month and 1.month BOP data significant difference was observed between the groups. Keywords: Er,Cr:YSGG, periodontitis, IL-1β, MMP-8