Comparison of Er,Cr:YSGG laser to minimally invasive surgical technique in the treatment of intrabony defects: Six‐month results of a multicenter, randomized, controlled study

Background The purpose of this publication is to report on the six-month clinical results and patient reported outcomes (PROs) comparing the surgical use of the Er,Cr:YSGG laser (ERL) and minimally invasive surgical technique (MIST) for the treatment of intrabony defects in subjects with generalized periodontitis stage III, grade B. Methods Fifty-three adult subjects (29 females and 24 males; 19 to 73 years) with 79 intrabony defects were randomized following scaling and root planing (SRP) to receive ERL monotherapy (n = 27) or MIST (n = 26). Recession (REC), probing depth (PD), clinical attachment level (CAL), treatment time, and PROs were assessed and compared for each treatment group. Clinical measurements were recorded at baseline, 4-6 weeks following SRP, and six months following surgical therapy. Results The following primary and secondary outcome variables were non-inferior with the following margins: CAL with a non-inferiority margin of 0.6 millimeters (mm). (p = 0.05), PD with a non-inferiority margin of 0.5 mm. (p = 0.05), Recession with a non-inferiority margin of 0.4 mm (p = 0.05). Faster procedure times were found for ERL (16.39 ± 6.21 minutes) vs MIST (20.17 ± 5.62 minutes), p = 0.0002. In the first two to three days of post therapeutic diary outcomes, subjects reported less bruising, facial swelling, and use of Ice pack for the ERL group. Conclusions This is the first multicenter, randomized, blinded, and controlled study demonstrating the Er,Cr:YSGG laser is not inferior to MIST in terms of clinical outcomes but is superior in PROs for the surgical treatment of intrabony defects. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.