Background
To evaluate the role of photodynamic therapy (PDT) as an adjunct to full-mouth ultrasonic scaling (FMUS) in reducing inflammation and gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) levels of interleukin (IL)-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α in thalassemia major (TM) patients with gingivitis. Materials and
Conclusion
The adjunctive role of PDT in the reduction of clinical and immunological signs of inflammation in TM patients seem to be effective in the short term.
Methods
Thirty patients were randomized into two groups; Group A: PDT + FMUS and Group B: FMUS alone. Clinical periodontal parameters including plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI), bleeding on probing (BoP) and probing depth (PD) were measured. Levels of IL-6 and TNF-α were estimated using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. All measurements were performed at baseline (T0), 6 weeks (T6) and 12 weeks (T12), respectively.
Results
For PI and GI, the reduction in Group A (p < 0.001) was higher than Group B (p < 0.05) at T12. Intra-group comparison between T6 and T12 showed statistical significance in both the groups (p < 0.01). The inter-group mean differences (Δ0-6 and Δ0-12) for both deltas showed statistical significance (p = 0.01). For BoP, no significant differences were seen until the end of T12 in both groups. The BoP in Group A reduced by a significant margin at T6 and remained less high by the end of T12 compared with group B (p = 0.02). Significant reduction in both IL-6 and TNF-α from T0 to T6 were seen in both groups. However, only for TNF-α that the intra-group differences were statistically significantly different from T0 to T12. The GCF levels of TNF-α in Group A remained less high by the end of T12 compared with group B (p < 0.05).