RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this split-mouth, double blinded, short-term, controlled clinical trial was to study the effect of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) as an adjunct to scaling and root planing (SRP) for treatment of chronic periodontitis. BACKGROUND DATA: LLLT is reported to improve the outcome of traditional SRP, but the evidence is still weak. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixteen patients with a probing pocket depth (PPD) of 4-6 mm involving at least three teeth in each quadrant were recruited for the study. Afterwards, SRP quadrants were randomly assigned for 10 sessions of LLLT. RESULTS: Results showed that when compared to sites treated with SRP alone, those treated with SRP+LLLT (10 sessions, 830 nm, 100 mW, 3 J per point, 3 J/cm(2)) exhibited greater reductions in PPD at 5 weeks and 3 months but not at 6 months. Further, SRP+LLLT-treated sites had a statistically significant increase in mean radiographic bone density when comparing 6- and 12-month data and overall from baseline to 12 months. There was a trend to reduce interleukin (IL)-1ß but the difference between control and laser sites was not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: SRP combined with LLLT improved radiographic bone density and short-term PPD reduction in patients with chronic periodontitis, but did not significantly affect either the gingival crevicular fluid of IL-1ß or the gingival or plaque index.