Recent preclinical and clinical data have suggested the potential benefit of photodynamic therapy (PDT) in the treatment of periodontitis. However, currently, there are very limited data from controlled clinical trials evaluating the effect of PDT in the treatment of periodontitis. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the clinical and microbiological effects of the adjunctive use of PDT in non-surgical periodontal treatment in patients receiving supportive periodontal therapy. Twenty-four patients receiving regularly supportive periodontal therapy were randomly treated with either subgingival scaling and root planing followed by a single episode of PDT (test) or subgingival scaling and root planing alone (control). The following parameters were evaluated at baseline and at 3 months and 6 months after therapy: full mouth plaque score (FMPS), full mouth bleeding score (FMBS), bleeding on probing (BOP) at experimental sites, probing pocket depth (PPD), gingival recession (REC), and clinical attachment level (CAL). Primary outcome variables were changes in PPD and CAL. Microbiological evaluation of Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (A.a.), Porphyromonas gingivalis (P.g.), Prevotella intermedia (P.i.), Tannerella forsythensis (T.f.), Treponema denticola (T.d.), Peptostreptococcus micros (P.m.), Fusobacterium nucleatum (F.n.), Campylobacter rectus (C.r.), Eubacterium nodatum (E.n.), Eikenella corrodens (E.c.), and Capnocytophaga species (C.s.) was also performed at baseline and at 3 months and 6 months after therapy, using a commercially available polymerase chain reaction test. No differences in any of the investigated parameters were observed at baseline between the two groups. At 3 months and 6 months after treatment, there were no statistically significant differences between the groups in terms of PPD, CAL and FMPS. At 3 months and 6 months, a statistically significantly higher improvement of BOP was found in the test group. At 3 months after therapy, the microbiological analysis showed a statistically significant reduction of F.n. and E.n. in the test group. At 6 months, statistically significantly higher numbers of E.c. and C.s. were detected in the test group. The additional application of a single episode of PDT to scaling and root planing failed to result in an additional improvement in terms of PPD reduction and CAL gain, but it resulted in significantly higher reduction of bleeding scores than following scaling and root planing alone.

The additional application of a single episode of PDT to scaling and root planing failed to result in an additional improvement in terms of PD reduction and CAL gain, but it resulted in a significantly higher reduction in bleeding scores compared to scaling and root planing alone.

The aim was to evaluate histologically the inflammatory reactions and tissue responses to an experimental tricalcium phosphate cement (TCP) and mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) when used as repair materials in furcation perforations in dogs. Perforations were performed in 24 mandibular premolars of six anaesthetised dogs and filled either with ProRoot MTA (grey) or TCP. The root canals were subsequently shaped and filled, and the access cavities were closed with a bonded composite resin. The animals were killed at 12 weeks. After radiological examination, the teeth and surrounding structures were processed for light microscopy. Concerning the grades of inflammation, MTA exhibited significantly better results than TCP (chi-square test according to Pearson). No furcation was free of inflammatory cells. Mild inflammation was observed in nine of twelve cases with MTA and only twice in those with TCP. No significant differences were revealed between MTA and TCP in terms of bone reorganization or deposition of fibrous connective tissue (Mantel-Haenszel chi-square test). The grade of radiological examination corresponded with the grade of inflammation or differed by only one grade plus or minus. Perforations located in the furcation of teeth remain an endodontic and a periodontal problem with an uncertain prognosis, in spite of the promising modern materials applied.

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The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical and microbiological effects of subgingival instrumentation (SI) alone or combined with either local drug delivery (LDD) or photodynamic therapy (PDT) in persistent/recurrent pockets in patients enrolled in supportive periodontal therapy (SPT). A total of 105 patients enrolled in SPT were randomly treated as follows: group A (n = 35): SI +PDT and 7 days later 2nd PDT; group B (n = 35): SI+LDD; group C (n = 35): SI (control). Prior intervention, at 3 and 6 months after therapy, probing pocket depths, clinical attachment level, number of treated sites with bleeding on probing (n BOP), full mouth plaque and bleeding scores (gingival bleeding index, %BOP) were recorded. At the same time points, 8 periodontopathogens were quantitatively determined. All three treatments resulted in statistically significant improvements (p < 0.05) of all clinical parameters without statistically significant intergroup differences (p > 0.05). Several bacterial species were reduced in both test groups, with statistically significantly higher reductions for LDD compared to PDT and the control group. In conclusion, the present data indicate that: (a) In periodontal patients enrolled in SPT, treatment of persistent/recurrent pockets with SI alone or combined with either PDT or LDD may lead to comparable clinical improvements and (b) the adjunctive use of LDD appears to provide better microbiological improvements for some periodontal pathogens than SI alone or combined with PDT.