Periodontal maintenance

Periodontal Maintenance

Periodontal maintenance (PM) is the preferred
term for those procedures formerly referred to
as supportive periodontal therapy or periodontal
recall, and includesmaintenance of dental
implants. Typically, PM
includes an update of the medical and dental histories,
extraoral and intraoral soft tissue examination,
dental examination, periodontal evaluation,implant
evaluation, radiographic review, removal of bacterial
plaque and calculus from supragingival and subgingival
regions, selective root planing or implant
debridement if indicated, polishing ofteeth, and a
review of the patient’s plaque removal efficacy

BIOLOGICAL BASIS FOR PERIODONTAL MAINTENANCE
Tooth loss in some periodontal patients has been shown to be inversely proportional to thefrequency
of PM.

THERAPEUTIC GOALS OF PERIODONTAL
MAINTENANCE
1. To prevent or minimize recurrence of disease progression
in patients who were previously treated
for periodontitis,peri-implantitis, or some types
of gingivitis (drug influenced, gingival diseases
modified by systemic factors, hereditary gingival
fibromatosis, etc.).
2. To prevent or reduce the incidence of tooth orimplant loss by monitoring the dentition and prosthetic
replacements of the natural teeth.
3. To increase the probability of locating and treating
other conditions or diseases found within the
oralcavity in a timely manner.

TREATMENT CONSIDERATIONS
The following items may be included in a PM visit,
subject to previous examination, history, and the judgment
of the clinician:
A. Review andupdate of medical and dental history
B. Clinical examination (to be compared with previous
baseline measurements)
1. Extraoral examination and recording of results
2. Intraoral examination andrecording of results:

3. Dental examination and recording of results:
a. Tooth mobility, fremitus, and occlusal factors
b. Coronal and root caries assessment
c. Restorative and prosthetic factors,...