Laser-assisted treatment of peri-implantitis: a retrospective cohort study.

The intent of this study was to provide a retrospective analysis of the clinical outcomes of 222 consecutive patients with 437 implants diagnosed with peri-implantitis and treated with the LAPIP protocol. All patients treated with LAPIP therapy at this practice were included. The primary outcome variable studied was probing depth (PD), and secondary variables were erythema, bleeding on probing, and suppuration. The significance of reductions in PD and clinical signs was assessed using repeated-measures analysis of variance. Complete data for both baseline and follow-up visits were available for 116 patients with a total of 224 treated implants. The rate of successful treatments-defined as follow-up PD ≤ 4.0 mm and elimination of clinical signs-was 90%. The reduction in PD from 5.4 mm at baseline to 3.4 mm at a median of 7.6 months was statistically significant (P ≤ 0.001). The reduction in the frequency of clinical signs was also statistically significant (P ≤ 0.001). Among 138 patients who had follow-up visits but not necessarily complete PD data, 15 implants were recorded as failed and 249 were recorded as intact at the median longest follow-up time of 13.1 months, resulting in a survival rate of 94%. In this single clinical practice, use of the minimally invasive LAPIP protocol for the treatment of peri-implantitis provided effective and predictable clinical outcomes. Future randomized controlled trials are indicated.
Competing Interests: Dr Harris is chief science advisor for Millennium Dental Technologies, Cerritos, California, and director of Bio-Medical Consultants & Associates, Paradise, California.