Evaluation of 980nm diode laser as adjunct to flap surgery.

The additional clinical benefit of diode laser irradiation as an adjunct to open flap debridement (OFD) in the treatment of chronic periodontitis remains uncertain. Therefore, it is of interest to evaluate the impact of diode laser irradiation during open flap debridement (OFD) for chronic periodontitis. Thirty patients with bilateral probing pocket depths of ≥5mm were randomly assigned to test and control groups. Clinical parameters such as plaque index, gingival index and probing pocket depth showed significant improvement within both groups, but no significant intergroup differences were found, except for reduced postoperative pain in the test group. The diode laser treatment was well-tolerated without complications. Thus, we show the potential benefits of diode laser irradiation as an adjunct to open flap debridement (OFD) in the treatment of chronic periodontitis.