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Probing depth at re‐evaluation following initial periodontal therapy to indicate the initial response to treatment

1989; Wiley; Volume: 16; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1111/j.1600-051x.1989.tb01646.x

1600-051X

Noel Claffey, Bruno G. Loos, Bernard Gantes, Michael V. Martin, Jan Egelberg,

Salivary Gland Disorders and Functions

Abstract 9 adult subjects with severe periodontitis were monitored following oral hygiene instruction and a single episode of crown and root debridement. Baseline recordings for probing attachment level were obtained both immediately pre‐instrumentation and immediately post‐instrumentation. Sites with gain, no change or loss of probing attachment level at 3 and 12 months compared to both pre‐and post‐instrumentation were identified. The classification was based upon the use of triplicate recordings at each time point, a site‐specific standard deviation for measurement variability, and the requirement of a minimum of 1.0 mm change. The relative frequencies of gain, no change, and loss of probing attachment were then calculated for sites of various residual probing depths at 3 and 12 months. This was performed to evaluate if a given probing depth at re‐evaluation, e.g., 7.0‐7.5 mm, could be used as an indicator of the need for supplementary treatment following the initial therapy, based upon the observed probing attachment changes compared to baseline. As an example of the results of the present study, 60% of sites with residual probing depths of 7.0–7.5 mm showed probing attachment gain > 1.0 mm compared to the post‐instrumentation baseline, and only 2% had undergone probing attachment loss > 1.0 mm. The overall results suggest that a relatively deep residual probing depth at re‐evaluation following initial therapy, by itself, provides little evidence of lack of improvement compared to baseline. On this basis, the use of a specific probing depth at 3 or 12 months following treatment as a yardstick for the provision of supplementary treatment may not be justified.