Guided versus freehand single implant placement: A 3-year parallel randomized clinical trial.

OBJECTIVES: The present parallel randomized clinical trial aimed to assess, after a 3-year follow-up period, whether the choice of surgical technique-either manual or guided-and of the operator - non-expert operator or skilled - can affect the stability of peri­implant marginal bone levels in implants placed 1 mm sub-crestal. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients received platform-switched implants (Anyridge, MegaGen Implant Co., Gyeongbuk, South Korea) featuring a 5-degree internal conical connection and supporting single screw-retained fixed crowns. The implants were randomly assigned to be placed through a digitally static guided surgery procedure (Test group - GS) or a freehand surgical technique (Control Group - FH). A non-expert operator (fewer than 20 implants placed in his professional activity) was selected to perform procedures for the GS Group, while a skilled operator (with over 1000 implants placed in his professional activity) was chosen for the FH Group. Marginal bone level (MBL) was measured at prosthesis installation (t0) and at 1 (t1), 2 (t2) and 3 years (t3) of follow-up. Changes in MBL from t0 to t3 were analyzed through periapical radiographs. Moreover, MBL changes at all time points were correlated to different supra-crestal soft tissue heights (STH): less than 3 and ≥ 3 mm, respectively. RESULTS: 60 implants in 18 patients were examined, with 30 implants allocated to the GS group and 30 to the FH group. The difference in MBL change between the two groups was 0.11 ± 0.22 mm, which was not statistically significant (p = 0.61). At the time of prosthetic loading, the mean MBL for implants with STH less than 3 mm was 0.33 mm higher than implants with STH ≥ 3 mm, though this difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.065). CONCLUSIONS: Digitally static guided implant placement, performed by a non-expert operator, does not limit marginal bone remodeling, when compared to a freehand procedure performed by an experienced operator. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: After correct and careful planning, early marginal bone levels (MBL) around conical connection, platform-switched implants placed sub-crestally may be stable in time. Digital planning and surgery have the potential to assist non-expert clinicians in achieving implant placements with comparable outcomes to those performed by experts.

Efficacy of the additional use of subgingival air-polishing with erythritol powder in the treatment of periodontitis patients: a randomized controlled clinical trial. Part II: effect on sub-gingival microbiome.

OBJECTIVES: To date, scarce evidence exists around the application of subgingival air-polishing during treatment of severe periodontitis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect on the health-related and periodontitis-related subgingival microbiome of air-polishing during non-surgical treatment of deep bleeding pockets in stage III-IV periodontitis patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty patients with stage III-IV periodontitis were selected, and pockets with probing depth (PD) 5-9 mm and bleeding on probing were selected as experimental sites. All patients underwent a full-mouth session of erythritol powder supragingival air-polishing and ultrasonic instrumentation. Test group received additional subgingival air-polishing at experimental sites. Subgingival microbial samples were taken from the maxillary experimental site showing the deepest PD at baseline. Primary outcome of the first part of the present study was the 3-month change in the number of experimental sites. Additional analysis of periodontal pathogens and other sub-gingival plaque bacteria sampled at one experimental site at baseline and 3 months following treatment was performed through a real-time quantitative PCR microarray. RESULTS: In the test group, a statistical increase of some health-related species was observed (Abiotropha defectiva, Capnocytophaga sputigena, and Lautropia mirabilis), together with the decrease of pathogens such as of Actinomyces israelii, Catonella morbi, Filifactor alocis, Porphyromonas endodontalis, Sele-nomonas sputigena, Tannerella forsythia, Treponema denticola, and Treponema socranskii. In the control group, statistical significance was found only in the decrease of Filifactor alocis, Tannerella forsythia, and Treponema socranskii. CONCLUSIONS: The addition of erythritol-chlorhexidine powder seems to cause a shift of the periodontal micro-biome toward a more eubiotic condition compared to a conventional treatment. The study was registered on Clinical Trials.gov (NCT04264624). CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Subgingival air-polishing could help re-establishing a eubiotic microbioma in deep bleeding periodontal pockets after initial non-surgical treatment.

Clinical evaluation of air polishing with erythritol powder followed by ultrasonic calculus removal versus conventional ultrasonic debridement and rubber cup polishing for the treatment of gingivitis: A split-mouth randomized controlled clinical trial.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the clinical efficacy in the short-term resolution of gingivitis of a novel protocol involving full-mouth erythritol powder air polishing followed by ultrasonic calculus removal. METHODS: Forty-one healthy patients completed the study. Following a split-mouth design, quadrants 1-4 and 2-3 were randomly allocated to receive air polishing followed by ultrasonic calculus removal (A+US) or traditional full-mouth ultrasonic debridement followed by polishing with a rubber cup and prophylactic paste (US+P). Bleeding on probing (BoP) and plaque index (PI) were collected at baseline and 2 and 4 weeks. Moreover, the residual plaque area (RPA), treatment time and patient comfort/satisfaction were evaluated at the end of the treatment. RESULTS: Both treatments showed a significant reduction in BoP and PI. At 4 weeks, A+US seems to reach a statistically significant lower BoP (8.7% [6.9; 10.9] vs. 11.6%[9.3; 14.4], p < 0.0001) and PI (10.7% [8.9; 13.0] vs. 12.3% [10.2; 14.9], p = 0.033). Moreover, A+US treatment time lasted on average 9.2% less than US+P (p < 0.0001) and was the preferred treatment for a significantly higher number of patients (73.2% vs. 17.1%, p = 0.0001). CONCLUSION: The A+US protocol is suitable for the short-term resolution of plaque-induced gingivitis.

Efficacy of sonic versus manual toothbrushing after professional mechanical plaque removal: A 6-month randomized clinical trial.

AIM: The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of two brushing methods (manual vs. sonic) in terms of plaque control after a session of professional mechanical plaque removal (PMPR). METHODS: Subjects with gingivitis underwent a session of PMPR and were randomly assigned to sonic (SB) or manual brushing (MB). Oral hygiene instructions were provided at baseline (BL), 2 (T0a), 4 (T0b) and 6 weeks (T1) and 6 months (T2). Plaque Index (PI), Gingival Index (GI) and bleeding on probing (BoP) were measured at BL, T1 and T2. The proportion of sites with PI, GI and BoP was modelled at site level using a negative binomial regression fitted via generalized linear mixed model accounting for intra-patient correlation. RESULTS: Thirty-two subjects were selected, 16 assigned to each group and 31 completed the study. PI, BoP and GI were comparable at BL. At T1, PI was successfully maintained at 6.21% for SB and 22.81% for MB, while at T2 reached 11.34% for SB and 28% for MB, favouring the SB group (p < 0.001). GI and BoP were significantly lower in the SB group at T1, with a BoP reduction for SB about 3 times higher than MB (p < 0.001). These parameters then levelled at T2 between the groups, with BOP reaching 0.14% versus 0.05% (p = 0.356) and GI 1.75% versus 3.52% (p = 0.020). CONCLUSION: Sonic brushing seemed to maintain a lower PI score compared to a manual brush at 6 months. BoP and GI resulted comparable.

Efficacy of the additional use of subgingival air polishing with erythritol powder in the treatment of periodontitis patients: a randomized controlled clinical trial.

OBJECTIVES: To date, scarce evidence exists around the application of subgingival air polishing during treatment of severe periodontitis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the benefits of subgingival air polishing during non-surgical treatment of deep bleeding pockets in stages III-IV periodontitis patients MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty patients with stages III-IV periodontitis were selected, and pockets with probing depth (PD) 5-9 mm and bleeding on probing (BoP) were selected as experimental sites. All patients underwent a full-mouth session of erythritol powder supragingival air polishing and ultrasonic instrumentation. Test group received additional subgingival air polishing at experimental sites. The proportion of experimental sites shifting to PD ≤ 4 mm and no BoP at 3 months (i.e., non-bleeding closed pockets, NBCPs) was regarded as the primary outcome variable. RESULTS: The proportion of NBCP was comparable between test and control group (47.9 and 44.7%, respectively). Baseline PD of 7-9 mm, multi-rooted teeth and the presence of plaque negatively influenced the probability of obtaining NBCP. CONCLUSIONS: The additional application of subgingival air polishing does not seem to provide any significant clinical advantage in achieving closure at moderate to deep bleeding pockets in treatment of stages III-IV periodontitis patients. The study was registered on Clinical Trials.gov (NCT04264624). CLINICAL RELEVANCE: While air polishing can play a role in biofilm removal at supragingival and shallow sites, ultrasonic root surface debridement alone is still the choice for initial treatment of deep bleeding periodontal pockets.

One-Stage Full Mouth Instrumentation (OSFMI): Clinical Outcomes of an Innovative Protocol for the Treatment of Severe Periodontitis.

AIMS: This case series study aimed to assess the clinical outcomes of a novel protocol for the treatment of patients with severe periodontitis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty (20) patients with severe periodontitis underwent a single session of One-Stage Full-Mouth Instrumentation (OSFMI) involving supra- and sub-gingival air-polishing with erythritol and chlorhexidine powder and ultrasonic root surface debridement and calculus removal, in association with systemic amoxicillin and metronidazole. Pocket Probing Depth (PPD), Clinical Attachment Level (CAL), Recession (REC), Bleeding on Probing (BOP) and Plaque Index (PI) were collected at baseline (T0), 6 weeks (T1), 3 months (T2) and 6 months (T3). RESULTS: At 6 months, 30% of subjects reached the primary clinical endpoint (less than or equal to4 sites with PD greater than or equal to 5 mm). The percentage of BOP decreased from 49.08 (CI95% 36.06; 62.1) at T0 to 12.97 (CI95% 7.57; 18.37) at T3. The mean number pockets with PPD≥ 5 mm and PPD greater than or equal to 7 mm decreased significantly, from 46.0 and 20.6 at T0 to 11.5 and 2.8 at T3 respectively (p less than 0.001). CONCLUSION: The OSFMI protocol led to clinical results comparable to those obtained with traditional SRP. Researchers are encouraged to test this protocol in randomized clinical trials with longer periods of observation.

Plaque disclosing agent as a guide for professional biofilm removal: A randomized controlled clinical trial.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate through computer software analysis, the efficacy of the use of a plaque disclosing agent as a visual guide for biofilm removal during professional mechanical plaque removal in terms of post-treatment residual plaque area (RPA). METHODS: Thirty-two healthy patients were selected and randomized in two groups to receive a session of professional mechanical plaque removal with air-polishing followed by ultrasonic instrumentation with (Guided Biofilm therapy-GBT) or without (Control) the preliminary application of a plaque disclosing agent as visual guide. The residual plaque area (RPA) was evaluated through re-application of the disclosing agent and computer software analysis, considering the overall tooth surface and the gingival and coronal portions separately. RESULTS: A statistically and clinically significant difference between treatments is observed, with GBT achieving an RPA of 6.1% (4.1-9.1) vs 12.0% (8.2-17.3) of the Control on the Gingival surface and of 3.5% (2.3-5.2) vs 9.0% (6-13.1) on the Coronal, with a proportional reduction going from 49.2% (P-value = .018) on the former surface to more than 60% (P-value = .002) on the latter. CONCLUSION: The application of a plaque disclosing agent to guide plaque removal seems to lead to better biofilm removal.

Biofilm Removal and Bacterial Re-Colonization Inhibition of a Novel Erythritol/Chlorhexidine Air-Polishing Powder on Titanium Disks.

Air-polishing with low abrasiveness powders is fast arising as a valid and mini-invasive instrument for the management of biofilm colonizing dental implants. In general, the reported advantage is the efficient removal of plaque with respect to the titanium integrity. In the present study, we evaluated the in situ plaque removal and the preventive efficacy in forestalling further infection of an innovative erythritol/chlorhexidine air-polishing powder and compared it with sodium bicarbonate. Accordingly, two peri-implantitis-linked biofilm formers, strains Staphylococcus aureus and Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, were selected and used to infect titanium disks before and after the air-polishing treatment to test its ability in biofilm removal and re-colonization inhibition, respectively. Biofilm cell numbers and viability were assayed by colony-forming unit (CFU) count and metabolic-colorimetric (2,3-Bis-(2-Methoxy-4-Nitro-5-Sulfophenyl)-2H-Tetrazolium-5-Carboxanilide) (XTT) assay. Results demonstrated that air-polishing performed with either sodium bicarbonate or erythritol/chlorhexidine was effective in reducing bacteria biofilm viability and number on pre-infected specimens, thus showing a similar ability in counteracting existing infection in situ; on the other hand, when air-polished pre-treated disks were infected, only erythritol/chlorhexidine powder showed higher post-treatment biofilm re-growth inhibition. Finally, surface analysis via mechanical profilometry failed to show an increase in titanium roughness, regardless of the powder selected, thus excluding any possible surface damage due to the use of either sodium bicarbonate or erythritol/chlorhexidine.