Effects of the application of high-pressure oxygen on the treatment of periodontal disease in diabetic patients

Purpose. In this study we wanted to observe the improvement in the healing of periodontal tissues in a group of diabetic patients treated with traditional methods compared to another group treated with the addition of oxygen. The potential of oxygen has long been known in the field of plastic surgery, where it is used to treat burns and skin lesions. Materials and methods. This study consists in a split mouth study which involved 30 patients. We carefully treated them with periodontal therapy using manual and mechanical instrumentation. Then, we applied oxygen in half mouth according to randomization list. Finally we checked up patients after some weeks. Results. Our results highlight that all areas treated with oxygen application healed more rapidly and better than no treated areas. Conclusions. All in all, we have demonstrated that oxygen can improve the outcome of non-surgical periodontal treatment in diabetic subjects.