Hyaluronan in the Treatment of Residual Pockets in Periodontitis Patients.

Aim To evaluate the clinical and microbiological effects of a hyaluronan (HY) as adjunct to scaling and root planning of residual pockets during supportive periodontal therapy. Material and Methods Sixty-six chronic periodontitis, that have completed the active phase of treatment and are enrolled in a supportive periodontal therapy scheme, with 4 to 8 interproximal sites with PD ≥ 5 mm \< 8 mm and presence of BoP at the revaluation examination will be randomly assigned to the test (HY containing gel) or control group. Immediately after debridement of the residual pockets the test gel (GUM® Afta Clear Gel, Sunstar) will be applied into the experimental sites by the operator. Further, the participants will be instructed to apply at the experimental sites the test gel supragingivally with an interdental brush (TePe, Malmö, Sweden), once per day after tooth brushing for the first 3 months. Subgingival gel application will be repeated at the 3-month control in persistent pockets (i.e. PD ≥ 5mm + BoP). CAL, PD, BoP, and presence of plaque will be evaluated at baseline and thereafter every 3 months (i.e., after 3, 6, 9, and 12 months). Further, subgingival microbiological samples will be collected from the 4 experimental sites at baseline, 3, 6, and 12 months. Nine periodontal pathogens (Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Tannerella forsythia, Treponema denticola, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Prevotella intermedia, Parvimonas micra, Campylobacter rectus, Eikenella corrodens), total bacterial load, and amount of Candida albicans will be determined quantitatively by real-time PCR.