Clinical and biochemical comparison of guided tissue regeneration versus guided tissue regeneration plus low-level laser therapy in the treatment of class II furcation defects: A clinical study

Abstract

Objective: The present study was aimed to compare the clinical and biochemical effectiveness of guided tissue regeneration (GTR) alone and combined with low-level laser therapy (LLLT) application in the treatment of furcation II periodontal defects, over a period of 6 months. Material and methods: Thirty-three furcation defects were included in the study. Seventeen of these defects were treated with GTR plus LLLT, and sixteen of them were treated with GTR alone. Probing pocket depth (PPD), clinical attachment level (CAL), horizontal probing depth (HPD), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and osteocalcin (OC) levels in the gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) were recorded at baseline and at postoperative 3rd and 6th months. Results: Healing was uneventful in all cases. At the 3rd and 6th months, both treatment modalities—GTR and GTR plus LLLT—showed improved PPD, CAL, and HPD values compared to their baseline values. ALP and OC levels in GCF increased after the treatment in both groups (p < 0.05). When compared the two groups, at the 6th month, PPD, CAL, HPD, and ALP values showed significantly more improvement in laser group than non-laser group (p < 0.05). Conclusions: The results of this study showed that both treatments led to significantly favorable clinical improvements in furcation periodontal defects. LLLT plus GTR may be a more effective treatment modality compared to GTR alone.

KEYWORDS:

• Guided tissue regeneration
• low-level laser therapy
• periodontal healing
• furcation defects
• gingival crevicular fluid
• alkaline phosphatase
• osteocalcin

Funding

This study was supported financially by Ataturk University Scientific Research Projects Coordinator (2011/35 BAP Project number).

Declaration of interest

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this paper. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.