Response of molars and non-molars to a strict supragingival control in periodontal patients

The posterior position in the arches is one of the factors that underlies the poor prognosis of molar teeth (M). It is speculated that M do not benefit from the oral hygiene routine as well as non-molars (NM) do. This study evaluated the response of M and NM to supragingival control during a 6-month period in 25 smokers (S) and 25 never-smokers (NS) with moderate-to-severe periodontitis. One calibrated examiner assessed visible plaque (VPI) and gingival bleeding (GBI) indexes, periodontal probing depth (PPD), bleeding on probing (BOP), and clinical attachment loss (CAL) at days 0 (baseline), 30 and 180. At baseline, M showed significantly higher mean values of VPI (p = 0.017) and PPD (p < 0.001) compared with NM; CAL was also greater in M (p < 0.001) and was affected by smoking (p = 0.007). The reductions obtained for periodontal indicators at day 180 showed similar responses between M and NM. For CAL, M (NS 0.57 ± 0.50; S 0.67 ± 0.64) and NM (NS 0.38 ± 0.23; S 0.50 ± 0.33) reached an almost significant difference (p = 0.05). Smoking did not influence the response to treatment. Multilevel analysis revealed that, only for PDD reductions, the interaction between sites, teeth and patient was significant (p < 0.001). It was concluded that M benefit from an adequate regimen of supragingival biofilm control; therefore, supragingival condition should be considered in the prognosis of molar teeth.

Efeito do controle do biofilme supragengival na condição periodontal de pacientes tabagistas: uma revisão sistemática / Effect of supragingival plaque control on periodontal disease in smokers: a systematic review

Objetivo: avaliar, por meio de uma revisão sistemática da literatura, se o controle do biofilme supragengival, em pacientes fumantes, é capaz de alterar os critérios clínicos e microbiológicos associados à periodontites. Metodologia: a estratégia de busca envolveu o uso de bases de dados eletrônicos: MEDLINE e Cochrane Oral Health Group, entre 1965 e Janeiro de 2009. As palavras-chave utilizadas no MEDLINE foram: supragingival plaque control AND (subgingival OR debridement OR scaling and root planing OR non surgical OR oral hygiene OR periodontitis OR gingivitis OR plaque subgingival OR lost attachment OR probing pocket depth OR bleeding).Nessa busca foram localizadas 307 referências bibliográficas, contemplando os mais variados tipos de estudos. No Cochrane as palavras-chave aplicadas foram: supragingival plaque control AND oral hygiene, sendo obtidas 137 referências. A aplicação de critérios de inclusão permitiu que 4 estudos fossem avaliados na íntegra: 3 ensaios clínicos com seleção randômica de sítios experimentais e 1 ensaio clínico sem randomização. Resultados: dos estudos avaliados, 2 avaliaram somente a intervenção supragengival e 2avaliaram, também, a intervenção subgengival. Pôde-se observar que o controle supragengival, como intervenção única, foi capaz de determinar redução dos indicadores clínicos e microbiológicos periodontais, sendo os melhores resultados condicionados a um adequado programa de controle do biofilme supragengival. Conclusão: o estudo mostrou que o efeito do controle de biofilme supragengival em pacientes tabagistas é capaz de melhorar significativamente os indicadores clínicos e microbiológicos associados à gengivite e periodontite.

Aim: to conduct a systematic review of the literature to assess whether supragingivalplaque control is able to change clinical and microbiological markers associated with periodontal disease in smokers. Methodology: articles published between 1965 and January 2009 and indexed in the MEDLINE and Cochrane Oral Health Group databases were browsed. The following keywords were used on MEDLINE: supragingival plaque control AND (subgingival OR debridement OR scaling and root planing OR non surgical OR oral hygiene OR periodontitis OR gingivitis OR plaque subgingival OR lost attachment OR probing pocket depth OR bleeding);the search on MEDLINE yielded 307 references, including different types of studies. On Cochrane, the keywords employed were supragingival plaque control AND oral hygiene; this search yielded 137 studies. After application of inclusion criteria, four studies were selected for full-text review: three clinical trials with randomly selected experimental sites and one nonrandomized clinical trial. Results: of the four studies reviewed, two assessed the effects of supragingival plaque control alone, whereas the other two assessed both supragingival and subgingival interventions.It was possible to observe that supragingival plaque control alone was able to reduce clinical and microbiological indicators associated with periodontal disease, and that the best results were obtained after an adequate supragingival plaque control regimen. Conclusion: our study showed that supragingival plaque control is able to significantly improve clinical and microbiological markers associated with gingivitis and periodontitis in smokers.

Recobrimento radicular múltiplo: relato de caso / Multiple root coverage: case report

A literatura mostra uma variedade de técnicas cirúrgicas destinadas ao tratamento das recessöes gengivais, em grande parte relacionadas as recessöes localizadas. Contudo, para o tratamento de recessöes múltiplas, não säo descritas técnicas específicas, adotando-se as mesmas aplicadas as recessões localizadas, com a utilizaçäo de mais um procedimento cirúrgico. O artigo relata um caso de recobrimento radicular em múltiplos elementos com a realizaçäo de um procedimento cirúrgico único. Embora os defeitos apresentassem diferentes dimensões de altura e largura, o resultado mostrou-se bastante satisfatório, tendo sido obtido o recobrimento completo das recessöes. Ao final do período de observaçäo (um ano), constatou-se a estabilidade do resultado inicial e até uma melhor adaptaçäo cervical (creep attachment), conclui-se que a técnica pode ser empregada com sucesso nos casos de recessöes múltiplas