Endpoints of Periodontal Therapy in Elderly Patients With Stage III/IV Periodontitis and Their Oral Health-Related Quality of Life Following 10 Years of Supportive Periodontal Therapy.

AIM: To investigate clinical endpoints of periodontal therapy after steps 1 and 2 of therapy and their association with oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) following long-term supportive periodontal therapy (SPT).

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

Forty-seven patients receiving SPT for 126 ± 30 months were included. Clinical endpoints of therapy, as proposed by the EFP (PPD ≤ 3 mm, ≤ 5 mm without bleeding on probing), and a treat-to-target endpoint (T2T; ≤ 4 sites with PPD of ≥ 5 mm) were determined following steps 1 and 2 of therapy (T1) and were associated with patients' OHRQoL using the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP)-14 as well as tooth loss (TL) and self-reported tooth migration 126 ± 30 months after step 2 (T2).

RESULTS

One patient achieved the EFP endpoint and 16 achieved T2T, and 30 patients failed to achieve any endpoint at T1. OHRQoL at T2 did not differ significantly between patients achieving or not achieving the endpoints (p = 0.485). Self-reported tooth migration during the examination period was significantly associated with poorer OHRQoL (p = 0.009).

CONCLUSIONS

OHRQoL has become a major subject of periodontal research. Within the limitations of this study, achieving clinical endpoints does not seem to affect patients' OHRQoL following long-term SPT. Patients reporting on tooth migration, however, showed significantly reduced OHRQoL. Besides clinical endpoints, functional and aesthetic complaints of periodontally compromised patients should be considered when evaluating the success of therapy.