QI and research

Quality improvement and research

Quality improvement

Topics for quality improvement activities relevant to this guidance include:

• the completeness of periodontal charting, as appropriate to the patient’s periodontal status;
• formal recording of a periodontal diagnosis;
• instrument maintenance;
• compliance with recommendations within the guidance, for example:
  • assigning a risk level; 
  • provision of personalised oral hygiene instruction;
  • appropriate post-treatment review;
  • pre-implant placement periodontal assessment.

Research

There is a particular need for high quality research to improve the evidence base in the following areas:

• the impact of clinician-recorded, formal periodontal diagnosis on patient management;
• the relative importance of the different parameters used to inform a periodontal risk assessment;
• the impact of performing a risk assessment, and gaining knowledge of an individual’s risk, on patient and clinician behaviour;
• comparison of the efficacy of different behaviour change methods to improve the delivery of oral hygiene instruction;
• the impact of periodontal treatment on systemic disease outcomes;
• the most effective pre-implant placement protocols. 

Other potential research topics include:

• validation of the risk assessment tool presented in Supporting Tools;
• the uptake of the BSP Stepwise approach to treatment in primary dental care and its impact on referrals to secondary care;
• the assessment of patient engagement using different parameters and their individual predictability in relation to the outcome of periodontal treatment;
• the use of patient engagement measurements by the clinical team.