Chronic periodontitis is a multifactorial disease with proven bacterial etiology. Mechanical debridement is the mainstay treatment in non-surgical periodontal therapy. However, limited accessibility in various inaccessible areas leads to an exploration of other adjunctive modalities to augment the effects of conventional scaling and root planning. Systemic and local antibiotics, probiotics, ozone therapy and photodynamic therapy have been tried as other alternative modalities in the management of periodontal diseases. As antibiotics are associated with systemic side effects and the chance of developing bacterial resistance their use has limits. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has evolved as a modern, non-invasive, non-toxic, and potent antimicrobial treatment discipline for treating various diseases & conditions. PDT utilizes photosensitizer dye which upon irradiation with a suitable low-level laser of 660-680nm at 100mW, gets excited and produces a very potent antibacterial compound, i.e., singlet oxygen having strong oxidative action to kill bacteria. The aim of this split-mouth study is to evaluate the efficacy of photodynamic therapy as an adjunct to SRP in comparison with SRP alone in patients with chronic periodontitis. Clinical parameters were assessed at baseline and 90 days post-application of photodynamic therapy. The present study has shown statistically superior results for clinical parameters in the SRP+ PDT group. PDT when used as an adjunct with SRP, has shown improved periodontal parameters when compared to SRP alone, thus having a beneficial effect in chronic periodontitis patients.
