Effect of two toothcleaning frequencies on periodontal status in patients with advanced periodontitis.
OBJECTIVE
To compare the effect of once a day toothcleaning with once in 2 days toothcleaning in patients with advanced periodontitis.


METHODS
Twenty-two patients, aged 34-54 years were given intensive oral hygiene (OH) and half their mouth root planed with re-assessment 6 weeks later. The patients were randomised into either a once a day toothcleaning group or a once in 2 days toothcleaning group. The effects of the two cleaning regimens were assessed during a 6-week follow-up period. Two patients were excluded from the study. Analysis of covariance was used to test the difference between the two groups at baseline and at 6 weeks.


RESULTS
There was a statistically significant difference between the two groups in plaque reduction (p=0.01) and reduction of probing pocket depth >6 mm (p=0.05) in the OH-only sites. No significant difference was found between the two cleaning regimens in the combined oral hygiene with root planing sites.


CONCLUSIONS
The present study demonstrated that in patients with advanced periodontitis, once a day toothcleaning is more effective than once in 2 days toothcleaning in otherwise untreated sites.
Sadoh
D R
DR
Department of Periodontology and Preventive Dentistry, GKT Dental Institute, London, UK.
Watts
T L P
TL
Newton
J T
JT
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003773:Dental Plaque / Q000517:prevention & control; D012534:Dental Scaling; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005884:Gingival Hemorrhage / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009910:Oral Hygiene; D010510:Periodontal Diseases / Q000145:classification / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010512:Periodontal Index; D010514:Periodontal Pocket / Q000517:prevention & control; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D016745:Root Planing; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D014099:Toothbrushing / Q000379:methods*