title: A qualitative study on the background of long-term maintenance patients at a private Japanese dental clinic.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Continued periodontal maintenance after active therapy is highly important for maintaining a healthy oral function. In Japan, the rate of consultation for periodontal maintenance is remarkably low compared to other developed countries. This study analyzed the relationship between long-term maintenance and patient background characteristics in an effort to identify ways to increase the rate of consultation for periodontal maintenance in Japan.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-three long-term maintenance patients were interviewed. The interviews were recorded on video. The conversation between the patient and the interviewer was converted to text, and the data were qualitatively analyzed using the Steps for Coding and Theorization (SCAT) method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean age of the patients was 61.4 years and the average duration of maintenance was 10.7 years. The majority (90.9 %) of patients cared about their dietary habits, and 72.7 % of the patients understood the importance of physical activity. All of the patients wished to continue the maintenance, and 72.7 % of patients had good feelings about the staff of the dental clinic. However, their recognition of the description of primary prevention was low, with a response rate of only 21.2 %.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The long-term maintenance patients had a high level of consciousness regarding their health and good feelings about the staff of the dental clinic. Oral hygienists, who are the main staff involved in periodontal maintenance were suggested to be important for increasing the maintenance consultation rate.
authors.affiliation: Section of Geriatric Dentistry, Department of General Dentistry, Fukuoka Dental College, Postal address: 2-15-1, Tamura, Sawara-ku, Fukuoka-city, Japan. tkatou@college.fdcnet.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Tomotaka
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.affiliation: Sugiyama Dental Clinic, 1-53 Murakami-danchi, Yachiyo-city, Japan.
authors.forename: Seiichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sugiyama
authors.affiliation: Section of Geriatric Dentistry, Department of General Dentistry, Fukuoka Dental College, Postal address: 2-15-1, Tamura, Sawara-ku, Fukuoka-city, Japan.
authors.forename: Michiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Makino
authors.affiliation: Section of Geriatric Dentistry, Department of General Dentistry, Fukuoka Dental College, Postal address: 2-15-1, Tamura, Sawara-ku, Fukuoka-city, Japan.
authors.forename: Toru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Naito
mesh_terms: D003740:Dental Clinics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008875:Middle Aged; D010510:Periodontal Diseases / Q000628:therapy*; D036301:Qualitative Research
keywords: Maintenance; Patient background; Qualitative study