Nonsurgical treatment of periodontitis.

Scaling and root planing (SRP) is the gold standard treatment for most patients with chronic periodontitis. Nevertheless, in the last years, different therapeutic strategies have been proposed to improve the results of SRP and hence to avoid the need of periodontal surgical interventions in some patients with advanced periodontitis. They are based on modifications of standard therapies (such as enhancement of instrument tip designs), on development of new technologies (such as lasers), or development of alternative treatment protocols (eg, full-mouth disinfection). The purpose of this review is, therefore, to update the scientific evidence based on randomized clinical trials (RCT) evaluating these advanced nonsurgical therapies that have been published between January 2010 and March 2012.