Enhancing Periodontal Health Through Regenerative Approaches: A Commentary on the Need for Patient‐Reported Outcomes

Abstract

Starting in the 1970s, social scientists have discussed the importance of assessing subjective indicators of well-being and quality of life. Medical researchers followed this line of reasoning since the 1990s, emphasizing the significance of understanding how disease and its treatment affect patients' quality of life. Since the start of the 21 st century, oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) received increasingly more attention. While research concerning the effects of periodontal disease and its surgical and non-surgical treatment on patients' lives has been considered in numerous studies, research including patient-reported outcomes when assessing how periodontal health can be enhanced through regenerative approaches is largely missing. This commentary proposes to consider 1) OHRQoL and 2) patients' treatment satisfaction as patient-reported outcomes in conjunction with objectively measured patient-centered factors, and discusses the value of such an approach. J Periodontol 2015;86(Suppl.): S4-S7.

Xenogenous Collagen Matrix and/or Enamel Matrix Derivative for Treatment of Localized Gingival Recessions: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Part II: Patient‐Reported Outcomes

“…OHRQoL is a concept that refers to an individual's general well‐being, which includes not only aspects regarding oral health but also physical, mental, and social status 11 . This concept has an important impact on how treatment for a certain condition is chosen, concerning the patient's overall health and preferences.…”

“…OHRQoL is a concept that refers to an individual's general well-being, which includes not only aspects regarding oral health but also physical, mental, and social status. 11 This concept has an important impact on how treatment for a certain condition is chosen, concerning the patient's overall health and preferences. Moreover, recent consensus papers and a commentary have indicated lack of information on PROs, such as esthetics, hypersensitivity, morbidities, and treatment satisfaction.…”

“…16 As incorporation of PROs is relatively new to clinical trials, instruments used to assess these subjective outcomes are still not well defined. 11,13 There are some instruments to investigate how CDH 17 and esthetics 18 affect a patient with GR, but regarding esthetics, the Questionnaire of Oral Esthetic Satisfaction (QOES) is being proposed to better understand patients' relationship with their smiles.…”

Reduction of Gingival Black Triangles with Dental Pulp or Gingival Stem Cell Injection Therapy: Clinical and Outcomes Research Gaps

“…Evidence to support the use of stem cell therapy for this purpose, while available, remains limited [18][19][20][21]. Many small studies and case series have been published but as the technology and application are new, there is not yet evidence confirming the long-term persistence of the procedure.…”

“…It is understood that serious deficiencies in oral and periodontal health is associated with decrements in patient quality of life (QOL) [20,[29][30][31][32]. Cost-effectiveness studies often use QOL metrics as measures of effectiveness.…”