Comparative evaluation of conventional and diode laser-assisted gingival curettage in shallow suprabony periodontal pocket – Three months follow-up of a randomized clinical trial

Background: Chronic periodontitis is one of the most common forms of periodontal disease in adults. The primary goal of periodontal therapy is to remove dental plaque and bacteria to restore and maintain gingival tissue health. Subgingival scaling, root planning, and curettages are aimed at removing dental plaque, calculus, and necrotic cementum. Aim and Objectives: The main aim of our present randomized control clinical trial was to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of diode lasers compared to conventional curettage using hand instruments in patients with chronic periodontitis having shallow suprabony pockets. In addition, the pain sensation during conventional and laser-assisted curettage was compared during the procedure using Visual Analog Scale. Materials and method: Subjects with shallow pockets were divided into two groups and treated with either conventional curettage (Control group) with hand instrument or with diode laser (Test group). The data obtained were fed into Microsoft Excel 2000 package, and statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS software version 20.0 for Windows. Results: The control group elicited a reduction in probing pocket depth (PPD) from baseline to 1 month after treatment (6.60 ± 0.99 vs. 3.87 ± 0.64, respectively), which was statistically significant (P < 0.05). The 3-month postoperative scores had been reduced to 2.43 ± 0.50, which was also statistically significant (P < 0.05). The reduction between the 1 and 3 months after treatment (3.87 ± 0.64 vs. 2.43 ± 0.46, respectively), was also statistically significant (P < 0.05). The test group elicited a reduction in PPD from baseline to 1 month after treatment (6.80 ± 0.86 vs. 4.00 ± 0.76, respectively), which was statistically significant (P < 0.05). The 3-month postoperative scores had been reduced to 3.53 ± 0.48, which was also statistically significant (P < 0.05). There was a marginal reduction of postoperative scores between the 1 and 3 months after treatment (4.00 ± 0.76 vs. 3.53 ± 0.48, respectively), which was nonsignificant (P = 0.53). The mean PPD at baseline between Control group versus Test group (6.60 ± 0.99 vs. 6.80 ± 0.86, respectively) was nonsignificant (P = 0.56). The PPD at 1 month also revealed nonsignificant reduction, i.e. Control group versus Test group (3.87 ± 0.64 vs. 4.00 ± 0.76, P = 0.60). The postoperative reduction of PPD at 3 months was statistically significant (P < 0.05), i.e. Control group versus Test group (2.43 ± 0.46 vs. 3.53 ± 0.48). Conclusion: Within the limit of our study, it can be proved that both hand instrument-guided curettage and laser-assisted curettage can effectively reduce shallow pockets to a healthy gingival sulcus.