Laterally closed tunnel technique with and without adjunctive photobiomodulation therapy for the management of isolated gingival recession—a randomized controlled assessor-blinded clinical trial

The objective of this prospective randomized controlled single-center clinical trial was to prove the efficacy of adjunctive photobiomodulation in improving selected outcomes following the use of laterally closed tunnel technique for the management of isolated gingival recession. Nineteen participants (with isolated gingival recession) each treated by laterally closed tunnel technique were randomized to either add on treatment with control (sham laser application) or test group (photobiomodulation with 660 nm diode, 3.5 J/cm² per point of application). The primary outcome variable was change in recession depth and secondary variables included recession width, width of keratinized gingiva, periodontal biotype, and VAS score for pain assessment and EHS index for early wound healing assessment. Analysis was performed using a linear mixed effects model. There were no significant differences in the gingival recession depth (p = 0.8324) and recession width (p-0.969) at 3-month follow-up. The VAS scores were significantly lower for the test (laterally closed tunnel technique + photobiomodulation) group as compared to control (laterally closed tunnel technique + sham laser) over time (p =  < 0.0001) as well as per site (p = 0.0006) The Early Wound Healing Index scores were significantly higher in the test (laterally closed tunnel technique + photobiomodulation) group as compared to control (laterally closed tunnel technique + sham laser) group (p < 0.0001). The adjunctive use of photobiomodulation did not show a better outcome concerning recession depth but appears to provide faster healing of the surgical wounds and better patient comfort. The result needs further evaluation in particular with respect to long-term effect and due to limitation in sample size. Clinical Trial Registry of India: CTRI/2019/11/022012.