Blinding
MINST
STERILE
During the MINST procedure, the clinician (periodontist EA) was not informed about the patients’ group allocation (MINST or MINST + PACNs). After the MINST procedure, the patients’ group assignments were revealed to the clinician by the examiner (RP), and accordingly the patients received the intended treatment.From the beginning of the clinical trial, the patients were not informed which group they have been allocated to. The periodontal treatment was performed under local anesthesia in a sterile field (dental surgery face drapes were used) to eliminate the possibility for patients to monitor the process of the procedure. Thus, patients could not see or feel what type of treatment (MINST of MINST + PACNs) they received.