What Researchers Did
Researchers randomly assigned 30 patients with severe periodontitis to either hyperbaric oxygen therapy or a gargle control group to assess therapeutic effects and their duration.
What They Found
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy significantly decreased the gingival index by 1.1, sulcus bleeding index by 1.2, probing depth and attachment loss by 0.7 mm, and gingival crevicular fluid volume by 2.0. It also increased gingival blood flow 1.8-fold, with these beneficial effects largely maintained for over one year for most measured indices.
What This Means for Canadian Patients
For Canadian patients with severe periodontitis, hyperbaric oxygen therapy could offer a new treatment option to reduce inflammation and improve gum health. This therapy may provide sustained benefits for over a year, potentially slowing disease progression.
Canadian Relevance
This study has no direct Canadian connection or Canadian authors.
Study Limitations
A primary limitation is the small sample size of only 30 patients, which may limit the generalizability of the findings.