[A new ultrasonic system in initial periodontal therapy: clinical efficacy and perception of pain].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the clinical efficacy and perception of pain during initial periodontal treatment using Vector-system and a conventional ultrasonic system. METHODS: Thirty-eight patients with mild to moderate periodontitis were debrided using both A-system (Vector-system) and B-system (Suprasson P5 Newtron) in a split mouth design. At baseline, one month after treatment, plaque index (PLI) and bleeding on probing (BOP) were recorded and probing depth(PD) was measured. A verbal analogue scale (VAS) was used to evaluate the perceived pain right after the treatment. RESULTS: At one month evaluation, all areas showed an improvement in clinical parameters. No statistically significant differences in PD and BOP could be observed between areas treated by two different systems, while A-system contributed to greater improvement in PLI than B-system. Patients treated with A-system [(22.5 +/- 7.5) mm] experienced about 60% the amount of pain compared with the conventional ultrasonic device [(37.2 +/- 11.3) mm]. CONCLUSIONS: During initial periodontal treatment for the patients with mild to moderate periodontitis, A-system could achieve a comparable clinical efficacy and reduced pain sensations to conventional ultrasonic device.