Efficacy of Erythritol Air Polishing for Inducing Initial Healing of Shallow-to-Moderate Periodontal Pockets and Restoring Gingival Crevicular Fluid β-Catenin, 8-Hydroxy-Deoxyguanosine and Total Antioxidant Capacity: A Split-Mouth Randomised Clinical Trial.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of subgingival erythritol powder air polishing (EPAP) for inducing initial healing of shallow-to-moderate periodontal pockets and its effect on gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) β-catenin, 8-hydroxy-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) levels.

Methods: This randomised, split-mouth clinical trial involved 22 periodontitis patients. Periodontal pockets (4-6 mm) were treated either by scaling and root planing (control) or EPAP followed by subgingival instrumentation 1 month later (test). Clinical periodontal variables were recorded, and GCF samples were collected from the selected sites at baseline, week 4 and week 12 visits. The GCF levels of β-catenin, 8-OHdG and TAC were estimated via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

Results: Compared with those at baseline, both groups showed non-different significant reductions in clinical variables at week 4 and week 12 after treatment. GCF β-catenin and 8-OHdG levels at both the test and control sites significantly decreased at week 4 and continued to further decrease at week 12. A greater reduction in GCF β-catenin was detected at the control sites at the week 12 visit. Conversely, GCF TAC was only significantly increased at week 12 in both groups, but the difference between the groups was not significant.

Conclusion: Using of EPAP has the potential to induce initial healing in shallow-to-moderate pockets as it offers non-different changes in clinical outcomes and GCF biomarkers compared to conventional method.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT05798871.