Oral
pyogenic granuloma (PG) is traditionally treated by surgical excision which is associated with
bleeding,
pain and a high rate of recurrence. Our research aimed to clinically assess the effectiveness of
diode laser versus
sclerotherapy, as bloodless approach, in the treatment of oral PG. We randomly divided 20 patients with oral PG into two groups, with those in the test group being managed via
diode laser application and those in the control group via
injections of
ethanolamine oleate as a
sclerosing agent. All patients were evaluated intraoperatively for
bleeding severity and postoperatively for
pain. The quality of healing was also assessed using Landry healing index after the 1st, 2nd and 4th weeks. Additionally, the patients were recalled after 3, 6 and 9 months from the end of treatment for recurrence evaluation. Our results revealed that intraoperative
bleeding did not differ significantly between both groups while
postoperative pain decreased significantly in the
sclerotherapy group compared to the
laser group. For different intervals, the
sclerotherapy group had a higher healing quality index than the
laser group, although the difference was not statistically significant. However, recurrence occurred in the
laser group, there were no cases of recurrence in the
sclerotherapy group in all intervals. In conclusion,
diode laser treatment of PG is a reliable, less invasive, and sensitive procedure that requires an experienced operator and specialised equipment. However,
ethanolamine oleate sclerotherapy is an inexpensive, simple technique besides being less prone to recurrence problems, especially when
treatment duration is not a concern.