Effect of glycine powder air-polishing as an adjunct in the treatment of peri-implant mucositis: a pilot clinical trial

Background: Glycine powder air-polishing (GPAP) has the potential to effectively erase biofilms and may improve the treatment efficacy of peri-implant mucositis. This pilot clinical trial evaluated the effect of GPAP as an adjunct in treating peri-implant mucositis.

Materials and methods: Twenty-four subjects having at least one implant with peri-implant mucositis were randomly assigned to test (12 subjects with 17 implants) and control (12 subjects with 16 implants) groups. Following baseline assessment, all subjects received oral hygiene instruction and non-surgical debridement. In the test group, the sites with probing depth (PD) ≥4 mm were additionally treated by GPAP for 5 sec. Clinical parameters were measured at 1-week, 1-month, and 3-month recall visits.

Results: At the 3-month visit, the mean reductions in PD at site level were 0.93 ± 0.93 mm and 0.91 ± 0.98 mm in the test and control groups, respectively (P < 0.05), and no significant difference existed between two groups. Mean bleeding score was also significantly reduced in both groups after the intervention. No complications or discomfort were reported during the study.

Conclusions: This pilot clinical trial suggests that non-surgical mechanical debridement may effectively control peri-implant mucositis, and adjunctive GPAP treatment seems to have a limited beneficial effect as compared with mechanical debridement alone. However, further clinical trials with a large sample size are needed to confirm this preliminary observation.