A COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF LASER ASSISTED & CONVENTIONAL OPEN FLAP SURGICAL DEBRIDEMENT PROCEDURE IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC PERIODONTITIS – A CLINICAL AND MICROBIOLOGICAL STUDY- A PILOT PROJECT

Background and Objectives: Current research suggests several advantages of the adjunctive use of lasers in periodontal therapy. The aim of this study was to assess and evaluate the comparative therapeutic effects of laser-assisted and conventional open flap debridement procedures. Materials and Methods: 30 sites in 15 patients (9 males and 6 females), age range (25-50 yrs) with chronic periodontitis having probing depth ≥5 mm after phase I therapy were randomly assigned to test group (laser-assisted flap debridement) & control group (conventional open flap debridement) in a split-mouth design. Clinical and microbial parameters were analyzed at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months. In addition, Soft tissue healing was also assessed using the healing index at 1 week, 2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months & 6 months. Results: The change in clinical parameters in the test and control groups was not statistically significant at the various time intervals (p˂0.05). However, the microbiological analysis showed a significant reduction in the CFU counts of periodontal pathogens in the test sites when compared to the control sites at immediate post-op and 6 months (p>0.05). Conclusion: Laser assisted flap procedures showed better therapeutic outcomes when compared to the conventional open flap debridement with respect to microbial parameters; however, future long term RCTs (randomized clinical trials) with larger sample sizes need to be carried out to ascertain their benefits.