A New Method for Volumetric Analysis of Soft-Tissue Changes Using Three-Dimensional Imaging in Patients With Periodontitis.

AIMS: To quantify changes in soft-tissue volume induced by non-surgical periodontal therapy (NSPT) in patients with periodontitis and correlate them with clinical parameters and smoking. A new digital approach is investigated because standard periodontal clinical assessment methods are unable to accurately capture volumetric changes.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

Thirty-nine subjects with periodontitis aged 27-70 years (median 48; 51% females; 49% smokers) were included. All subjects underwent clinical examination and intraoral scanning at baseline and 8 weeks after NSPT. Digital models were superimposed, and changes in volume were analysed and correlated with clinical parameters.

RESULTS

NSPT reduced soft-tissue volume in both smokers and non-smokers (p < 0.001). Non-smokers had a higher median change in volume than smokers (267.4 vs. 210.5 mm3), without statistically significant differences. Periodontal clinical parameters linearly correlated with soft-tissue volume changes. In multiple linear regression, a higher initial proportion of pockets ≥ 5 mm was the only predictor of volume change when the effects of change in plaque score, smoking status, age and sex were controlled for (p = 0.015).

CONCLUSION

NSPT resulted in comparable reductions in soft-tissue volume for both smokers and non-smokers, which was confirmed by a new digital approach.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT05719519, 25.01.2023.