Trehalose powder for subgingival air-polishing during periodontal maintenance therapy: A randomized controlled trial.

Abstract

Air-polishing appears to be a promising procedure for subgingival biofilm removal in periodontal treatment. The aim of this study was to compare trehalose powder for subgingival air-polishing with sonic debridement in residual periodontal pockets during maintenance therapy. In this blinded, randomized, controlled clinical trial conducted over 6 months with a split-mouth design, single-rooted teeth in 44 participants with residual pocket depths of 5mm and bleeding or >5mm with and without bleeding were included in this study. Subgingival debridement was carried out using either trehalose powder with an air-polishing device (test) or a sonic device (control). The reduction in the probing depths after 3 and 6 months was defined as the primary endpoint. A visual analog scale was used to evaluate the discomfort of both procedures. Both procedures showed statistically significant intragroup reductions in probing depths (test baseline [BL] 5.52±0.93, 6 months 3.66±0.81, control BL 5.55±0.9, 6 months 3.68±0.86, P<0.001), clinical attachment level (test BL 6.93±1.5, 6 months 5.3±1.52, control BL 7.27±1.8, 6 months 5.84±1.71, P<0.001), and bleeding on probing (test BL 86%, 6 months 41%, control BL 89%, 6 months 34%, P<0.001) after 6 months with no significant intergroup differences (P>0.05, respectively). The visual analog scale showed a significantly lower incidence of discomfort for air-polishing compared with sonic scaling (test 2.33±2.14, control 4.91±2.65, P<0.001). Subgingival air-polishing with trehalose powder showed comparable clinical outcomes to sonic scaling. Sonic scaling evoked more discomfort compared with air-polishing.