Improving outcomes in supportive periodontal care

Investigators may have illuminated the factors contributing to a greater risk of worsening periodontal pocket depth in patients who underwent nonsurgical periodontal therapy, according to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Periodontology.

The investigators used fully documented patient data at baseline, following periodontal therapy and during supportive periodontal care to analyze the clinical attachment level, bleeding on probing, tooth mobility, furcation involvement, abutment status, adherence to supportive periodontal care and supportive periodontal care follow-ups of 116 patients with stage III or IV periodontitis.

During supportive periodontal care, they discovered that the periodontal pocket depth decreased, remained unchanged, and increased in 21.8%, 41.4%, and 36.8% of the sample sites, respectively. The factors found to adversely impact periodontal pocket depth during periodontal maintenance therapy were distopalatal furcation involvement, residual pockets after therapy and tooth mobility, degrees I to III.

The investigators underscored that monitoring these factors in patients undergoing supportive periodontal care may help improve increasing periodontal pocket depth.

Read more: Journal of Clinical Periodontology

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