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.