Supportive periodontal care with or without subgingival instrumentation: Microbiological results of a 2-year randomized clinical trial

Aim

To compare the subgingival microbiota of patients receiving supportive periodontal care (SPC) with and without subgingival instrumentation, over 2 years.

Materials and Methods

This study was a randomized clinical trial that included 62 participants (50.97 ± 9.26 years old; 40 females) who completed non-surgical periodontal therapy. Participants were randomly assigned to receive oral prophylaxis with oral hygiene instructions alone (test) or in combination with subgingival instrumentation (control) during SPC. Pooled subgingival biofilm samples were obtained from four sites per patient at SPC baseline and at 3, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months. Real-time polymerase chain reaction was used for absolute quantification of Eubacteria and the target bacteria Porphyromonas gingivalis, Tannerella forsythia, and Treponema denticola. Data were analysed using generalized estimating equations, taking into consideration the clustering of observations within individuals.

Results

No significant differences were found between the experimental groups regarding the mean counts of Eubacteria and target bacteria, as well as the periodontal parameters at the sampled sites. Although significant variability in bacterial counts was present during SPC, all counts after 2 years were not statistically different from those at baseline. Bacterial counts were associated with the presence of plaque, bleeding on probing, mean probing depth ≥3 mm, and follow-up period.

Conclusions

SPC with or without subgingival instrumentation can result in comparable subgingival microbiological outcomes. Clinical trial registration: clinicaltrials.gov: NCT01598155 (https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT01598155?intr=supragingival%20control&rank=4#study-record-dates).