Tooth Loss in Patients With Moderate Periodontitis After Treatment and Long–Term Maintenance Care

Abstract

Records of 63 patients diagnosed as having moderate periodontitis who had been treated and maintained by scaling and root planing for 10 years or longer (mean 13.6 years, range 10 to 34 years) in dental school clinics were reviewed for tooth loss. The patients averaged 45 years of age (range 24 to 67 years) at the initial appointment, and 41 were female. Record audit determined type of periodontal treatment, total tooth loss, periodontally related tooth loss, loss of teeth with furcation invasion, plaque scores, and maintenance interval. Results of therapy were evaluated by groups on the basis of number of teeth lost. At the completion of active periodontal therapy 1,607 teeth were present in the patients. During the maintenance period, 115 teeth (7.1%) were lost and of these 88 (5.0%) were lost due to periodontal reasons. Maxillary and mandibular molar teeth, particularly maxillary second molars, were the teeth lost most frequently to periodontal disease. Of the 164 teeth initially indicated as having furcation invasion, 23% were subsequently lost. This retrospective study confirms the low rate of tooth mortality occurring when patients with periodontal disease are treated and kept on a maintenance program. Canines were the teeth least frequently lost.

Tooth loss in individuals under periodontal maintenance therapy: prospective study

“…5,7,13,[16][17][18] The present study reports similarities with previous studies 6,9,17 in relation to the type of lost teeth during PMT. Teeth from the upper arch were lost more often that those from the lower arch.…”

“…This fact is corroborated by numerous studies. 1,6,8,13,17,19 However, higher age groups were not associated with TL in the final multivariate model. This fact can be substantiated by the hypothesis previously cited or by the greater stratification of the variable age in the present study.…”

“…4,6,8,[13][14][15][16][17] In a similar way to other prospective studies of TL in periodontal susceptible individuals, the present study aimed to describe the TL for periodontal disease and to analyze possible predictors of risk to the occurrence of this event.…”

“…1,2 The dental mortality has already been reported in longitudinal studies through the combination of lost teeth during active therapy and Periodontal Maintenance Therapy (PMT). [3][4][5][6] The vast majority of studies reported TL only during the maintenance period. 3,5,[7][8][9][10][11] However, recent studies recommended the description of TL prevalence during the active therapy and its incidence during PMT as a mean of assessing the overall effectiveness of periodontal therapies.…”

“…3,5,[7][8][9][10][11] However, recent studies recommended the description of TL prevalence during the active therapy and its incidence during PMT as a mean of assessing the overall effectiveness of periodontal therapies. 12,13 Moreover, most of the studies on TL in programs of PMT have retrospective designs, 3,4,[6][7][8]14 and as a consequence, data may reflect the traditional bias related to the design methodology.…”