Non-surgical periodontal treatment: clinical and microscopic evaluation

Abstract

To compare the effectiveness of two combined non-surgical periodontal therapies from an analysis of the treated tooth surface using optical microscopy (OM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Methods: Thirty patients were selected with moderate to severe periodontal disease and indicating at least one piece for extraction due to poor prognosis. A clinical study with a split-mouth, randomized, double-blind design was performed. Two combined treatment modalities were compared: Cavitron Bobcat ™ + completion with Gracey Curettes (G1); EMS™ + completion with Gracey curettes (G2). The treatment was performed until a smooth surface was obtained and no residual calculus was present, which was verified by a periodontal probe. The extracted pieces were analyzed by OM and SEM. Periodontal variables were: plaque index (PI), bleeding on probing (BP), probing pocket depth (PPD), clinical insertion level (CIL), gingival recession (GR) were observed before treatment, 3 and 6 months later. The operative time (OT) for each method was also analyzed. The results were compared by ANOVA followed by the Tukey test, setting the significance value at p<0.