Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis as adjunct to non-surgical periodontal treatment in periodontitis: a randomized controlled clinical trial.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study is to investigate the clinical and microbiological effects of Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis DN-173010 containing yogurt as an adjunct to non-surgical periodontal treatment in periodontitis patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a prospective randomized controlled clinical study registered with NCT05408364 under clinical trial registration. Thirty periodontitis patients were divided into 2 groups at random. As adjunctive to supra and subgingival instrumentation, the test group consumed Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis DN-173010 containing yogurt while the control group consumed natural yogurt, once daily for 28 days. The plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI), bleeding on probing (BOP), probing depth (PD), and clinical attachment level (CAL) were recorded at baseline, 28th day, and 3rd month. Microbiological analysis was performed using culture method by obtaining subgingival plaque samples from 2 periodontal sites with 4≤PD≤6 mm at the same time points. RESULTS: The inter-group comparisons of PI, GI, and BOP as well as the changes between the measurement time points were statistically significant in favor of the test group. There were no significant differences in terms of PD and CAL changes between the study groups at all times (∆baseline-28 days, ∆baseline-3 months) (p>0.05). The number of patients presenting subgingival Bifidobacterium species was significantly greater in the test group than the control group at the 28th day (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The administration of probiotics has shown beneficial effects, albeit limited, on clinical and microbiological outcomes in the management of periodontitis patients. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Daily consumption of probiotic yogurt may be supportive for supra and subgingival instrumentation.

Different treatment approaches for the localized gingival overgrowths: Case series.

Localized gingival overgrowths belong to a common group of lesions designated as focal reactive overgrowths. They occur in response to chronic, low-grade irritation caused by plaque or any other irritant. They have multifactorial etiopathology but exhibit similar clinical features with slight variations in patient complaints. Success of the lesions' management depends on formation of healthy contours of the surgical area after excision of lesion and absence of a recurrence. The purpose of case series is to present 6 different cases of localized gingival overgrowths and their management with the following techniques: nonsurgical periodontal treatment, gingivectomy, flap surgery, free gingival graft, gingival unit, and connective tissue graft.

Effect of topically applied hyaluronic acid on pain and palatal epithelial wound healing: An examiner-masked, randomized, controlled clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: This study aims to evaluate the effects of two different concentrations of topical hyaluronic acid (HA) on postoperative patient discomfort and wound healing of palatal donor sites after free gingival graft (FGG) surgery. METHODS: Thirty-six patients requiring FGG were randomly assigned into three groups in an examiner-masked, randomized, controlled clinical trial. After harvesting palatal grafts, 0.2% and 0.8% HA gels were used in test groups 1 and 2, respectively. Gels were applied on donor sites and protected with periodontal dressing in the test groups, whereas the wound was covered only with periodontal dressing in the control group. On days 3, 7, 14, and 21, pain and burning sensation were recorded using a visual analog scale (VAS) as well as other parameters such as complete epithelization (CE) and color match on days 3, 7, 14, 21, and 42. RESULTS: Test groups experienced less pain than the control group on days 3 and 7 (P <0.001 and P <0.001, respectively). Mean VAS score for burning sensation was higher in the control group on day 3 compared with test groups 1 and 2 (P = 0.03 and P = 0.02, respectively). CE in all patients was achieved on day 21 in both test groups, whereas it was achieved on day 42 in the control group. The test groups showed higher color match scores than the control group on days 21 (P <0.001 and P <0.001, respectively) and 42 (P = 0.004 and P = 0.002, respectively). CONCLUSION: Topical application of HA exhibits positive impact on postoperative pain and burning sensation, and accelerates palatal wound healing in terms of epithelization and color match.