Critical summary from the American Dental Association Center for Evidence-based Dentistry

iStock_000001604217XSmall dental laser

The ADA-EBD Center has just published another of its critical summaries of systematic reviews.  This one looks at a 2012 review by Sgolastra et al, which was looking at the efficacy of the Er:YAG laser when used as an alternative treatment to scaling and root planing (SRP) in the treatment of patients with chronic periodontitis?

The appraiser considered the reviews methodology to be robust, although the overall findings need to be tempered by the fact that only 5 studies with a total of 105 patients were included.  In addition 3 of the 5 studies were considered to be at high risk of bias.  Overall the available evidence did not support the superiority of the Er:YAG laser over mechanical SRP in the treatment of chronic periodontal disease.

Links

ADA-EBD – Evidence suggests that the Er:YAG laser does not enhance the result of root planing in patients with periodontal disease

Sgolastra F, Petrucci A, Gatto R, Monaco A. Efficacy of Er:YAG laser in the treatment of chronic periodontitis: systematic review and meta-analysis. Lasers Med Sci. 2012 May;27(3):661-73. doi: 10.1007/s10103-011-0928-8. Epub 2011 May 7.  Review. PubMed PMID: 21553003.

Dental Elf 24th Oct 2011 – Some evidence to support antimicrobial photodynamic therapy in patients with chronic periodontitis

 

Share on Facebook Tweet this on Twitter Share on LinkedIn Share on Google+
Mark as read
Create a personal elf note about this blog
Profile photo of Derek Richards

Derek Richards

Derek Richards is a specialist in dental public health, Director of the Centre for Evidence-Based Dentistry and Specialist Advisor to the Scottish Dental Clinical Effectiveness Programme (SDCEP) Development Team. He is a former editor of the Evidence-Based Dentistry Journal, the chief blogger for the Dental Elf website and a past president of the British Association for the Study of Community Dentistry. He has been involved with a wide range of evidence-based initiatives both nationally and internationally since 1994. Retired from the NHS he is currently a part-time senior lecturer at Dundee Dental School.

More posts - Website

Follow me here –