The adjunctive use of antimicrobial photodynamic therapy, light-emitting-diode photobiomodulation and ozone therapy in regenerative treatment of stage III/IV grade C periodontitis: a randomized controlled clinical trial

Objectives To assess the short-term efficacy of multiple sessions of antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT), light-emitting-diode (LED) photobiomodulation, and topical ozone therapy applications following surgical regenerative treatments on clinical parameters, patient-centered outcomes, and mRNA expression levels of VEGF, IL-6, RunX2, Nell-1, and osterix in gingival crevicular fluid samples in patients with stage III/IV, grade C periodontitis. Materials and methods Forty-eight systemically healthy patients were assigned into four groups to receive adjunctive modalities with regenerative periodontal surgical treatment. A 970 +/- 15 nm diode laser plus indocyanine-green for aPDT group, a 626 nm LED for photobiomodulation group, and topical gaseous ozone were applied at 0, 1, 3, and 7 postoperative days and compared to control group. The clinical periodontal parameters, early wound healing index (EHI), and postoperative patients' morbidity were evaluated. The mRNA levels of biomarkers were assessed by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Results No significant difference in the clinical parameters except gingival recession (GR) was identified among the groups. For group-by-time interactions, plaque index (PI) and probing pocket depths (PD) showed significant differences (p = 0.034; p = 0.022). In sites with initial PD > 7 mm, significant differences were observed between control and photobiomodulation groups in PD (p = 0.011), between control and aPDT, and control and photobiomodulation groups in CAL at 6-month follow-up (p = 0.007; p = 0.022). The relative osterix mRNA levels showed a statistically significant difference among the treatment groups (p = 0.014). Conclusions The additional applications of aPDT and LED after regenerative treatment of stage III/IV grade C periodontitis exhibited a more pronounced beneficial effect on clinical outcomes in deep periodontal pockets.