Compliance improvement in periodontal maintenance.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to assess the influence of efforts applied to modify the patients' behavior towards periodontal maintenance.


METHODS
Patients were classified into three groups: Complete Compliance (participation in all visits), Irregular Compliance (irregular participation, one or more missing appointments), and Noncompliance (abandoned or never returned to the program). Complete compliers received usual procedures of the maintenance visit. The irregular compliers and non-compliers received usual procedures and strategies such as reminding next visit, informing patients on both periodontal disease and importance of maintenance, motivating the patient who showed an improvement in compliance. Thus, 137 patients were observed for 12 months.


RESULTS
The degree of compliance has increased significantly during this period (p=0.001). No association was detected between age or gender and compliance degree.


CONCLUSIONS
The results have shown that the intervention applied had a favorable influence on the patients' compliance.
de Carvalho
Verônica Franco
VF
Department of Stomatology, Dental School, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. vecarvalho@gmail.com
Okuda
Osmar Shizuo
OS
Bernardo
Carlos Cheque
CC
Pannuti
Cláudio Mendes
CM
Georgetti
Marco Antonio Paupério
MA
De Micheli
Giorgio
G
Pustiglioni
Francisco Emílio
FE
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D032763:Behavior Control; D002327:Cariostatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D055113:Chronic Periodontitis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003728:Dental Calculus / Q000517:prevention & control; D003777:Dental Prophylaxis; D012534:Dental Scaling; D005260:Female; D005460:Fluorides, Topical / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005889:Gingival Recession / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D009910:Oral Hygiene; D010349:Patient Compliance; D010352:Patient Dropouts; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D017622:Periodontal Attachment Loss / Q000517:prevention & control; D010514:Periodontal Pocket / Q000517:prevention & control; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D055815:Young Adult
D002327:Cariostatic Agents; D005460:Fluorides, Topical