Clinical outcomes of experimental gingivitis and peri-implant mucositis treatment with professionally administered plaque removal and photodynamic therapy

Aim: To comparatively evaluate the outcomes of professionally administered plaque removal (PAPR) and photodynamic therapy (PDT) in the treatment for experimentally induced gingivitis (G) and peri-implant mucositis (p-iM). Materials and methods: Twenty systemically healthy patients, each contributing a single implant-supported unit in a posterior sextant and a tooth within the same quadrant, were selected. Patients underwent an experimental G and p-iM trial consisting of a 2-week period of undisturbed plaque accumulation and a 6-week resolution phase following treatment administration. Supragingival plaque levels, probing depth (PD) and bleeding on probing (BoP) were recorded at experimental tooth and implant either before or 2 and 6 weeks after administration of PAPR+PDT. Results: The results of the study indicate that (i) treatment with PAPR and PDT resulted in a significant reduction in the median number of BoP+ sites from 1 to 0 around teeth (P=.01) and from 3.5 to 2.0 around implants (P=.03), with the treatment effect being affected by initial PD; (ii) implants showed a significantly higher number of residual BoP+ sites following treatment, and the difference between implants and teeth was particularly pronounced (implants: 42%; teeth: 22%) at shallow (1-2 mm) sulci as observed at 6 weeks following treatment. Conclusions: G and p-iM can be effectively treated with PAPR+PDT. At shallow (1-2 mm) sulci, implants may show a higher number of residual bleeding sites when compared to teeth, and the number of residual bleeding sites following PAPR+PDT increases with increasing PD around either teeth or implants.