Photodynamic therapy for periodontal treatment in Down Syndrome patients

Abstract

Down syndrome patients have a huge incidence of periodontal disease. One of the main goals of periodontal treatment is the periodontal health recovery through mechanical biofilm removal from corono-radicular surfaces. The success of this therapy depends on the elimination of pathogens present in the soft tissues. The photodynamic therapy has been used for endodontic and periodontic treatments. The aim of this study is to evaluate the clinical and microbiological effects of photodynamic therapy associated to scaling and root planning in Down syndrome patients. 30 patients will be selected and randomly distributed in test group: scaling and root planning + photodynamic therapy and control group: scaling and root planning. The photodynamic therapy will be applied with a red laser (660nm) + toluidine Blue O and will be repeated after 3, 7 and 14 days. For microbiologic analysis, samples of 6 deepest sites will be collected with absorbent paper cones and the quantification of Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Treponema denticola, Tannerella forshitia, Fusobacterium nucleatum will be done by RT-PCR. The microbiological parameters will be evaluated at baseline, 3 and 6 months after therapy. For statistical analysis multiple data will be evaluated by ANOVA complemented by Tukey or Kruskall-Wallis complemented by Dunn. Paired tests will be evaluated by Student's t-test or Mann-Whitney. The level of significance will be 5% (p<0.05). The present research has great importance in the scientific scenario because the proved additional benefits of photodynamic therapy will be used in Down syndrome patients. (AU)