Morphological alterations of periodontal pocket epithelium following Nd:YAG laser irradiation.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this in vivo study was to examine morphologic alterations in the periodontal pocket epithelium with presence or absence of clinical inflammation following the use of the Neodymium: Yttrium-Aluminum-Garnet (Nd:YAG) laser irradiation.

BACKGROUND DATA: Subgingival Nd:YAG laser irradiation has been proposed as an alternative technique for treatment of chronic periodontitis. Several published studies have reported the clinical outcomes of such treatment.

METHODS

Twenty patients, diagnosed with moderate chronic periodontitis, were selected for the study. A total of 32 sites was identified and divided into a control (n=18) and laser-treated test groups (n=14). Probing depth (PD) and bleeding on probing (BOP) were recorded for all sites. Test sites were irradiated with an Nd:YAG laser using parameters of 2 W, 200 mJ pulse energy, and 10 pps delivered through a 320 μm diameter tip. Total laser treatment time ranged from 1 to 2 min. Following treatment, all specimens were harvested via biopsy and processed for scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and histologic examination.

RESULTS

Control group specimens, depending upon initial PD, exhibited either a relatively smooth and intact epithelium with little desquamation (PD≤3 mm), or increasing degrees of epithelial desquamation and leukocytic infiltration at a PD of ≥4 mm. In the laser-treated test group, the specimens with PD≤3 mm that were BOP negative (-) exhibited a thin layer of epithelium that was disrupted. In the specimens with initial PD of ≥4 mm, complete removal of the epithelium whose extent and degree were increasing, was observed in the inflamed portion, while epithelium remained in the uninflamed portion.

CONCLUSIONS

The SEM and histologic findings demonstrated the feasibility of ablating pocket epithelium with an Nd:YAG laser irradiation using parameters of 2 W of power (200 mJ, 10 pps). Furthermore, the presence or absence of clinical inflammation appeared to have an impact on the degree of laser-mediated epithelial ablation.