Treatment components

Treatment components

Patients with a diagnosis of periodontitis require lifelong periodontal treatment and maintenance care. Periodontal treatment encompasses several different components, some or all of which may be employed throughout treatment:

• control of risk factors which increase susceptibility to periodontal disease or complicate its management;
• support for effective patient oral hygiene and behaviour change, including provision of a personalised self-care plan;
• removal of plaque biofilm and calculus from tooth and root surfaces;
• ongoing assessment of plaque biofilm levels, gingival and periodontal inflammation and probing pocket depths;
• periodontal surgery at sites which fail to respond to non-surgical management;
• ongoing maintenance once the patient’s condition has improved as much as possible following treatment.

The BSP implementation of European S3 - level evidence-based treatment guidelines for stage I-III periodontitis in UK clinical practice (BSP-S3)⁶ advocates a stepwise approach to periodontal therapy, organising treatment into four steps which incorporate these components in a structured way (see Planning periodontal treatment).