Guided periodontal infection control is ‘more time-efficient than conventional therapy’

Both the traditional section-by-section non-surgical therapy (CNST) and the guided approach to infection control (GPIC), which involves full-mouth debridement followed by oral hygiene education for patients, are efficient non-surgical treatment options for periodontitis.

A recent study aimed to compare the two approaches’ relative effectiveness in terms of clinical and patient-centered outcomes in the general population, under realistic practice-related circumstances.

The study was conducted in Gothenburg, Sweden, and involved 95 dental hygienists who were randomly assigned to perform either CNST or GPIC on patients. Patients also underwent a clinical examination and a self-perceived oral health questionnaire at the six-month follow-up. The main result was the closure of the periodontal pocket.

The researchers discovered that 70% of pockets were closed after six months with both treatment modalities. However, GPIC was more time-efficient, which provided benefits both to patients and clinicians.

References

Tomasi, C.,  Liss, A.,  Welander, M.,  Alian, A. Y.,  Abrahamsson, K. H., &  Wennström, J. L. (2022).  A randomized multi-centre study on the effectiveness of non-surgical periodontal therapy in general practice. Journal of Clinical Periodontology,  49(11),  1092–1105. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpe.13703