Factors that affected the efficacy of non-surgical periodontal treatment carried out by postgraduate periodontology students

The training of postgraduate students in periodontology has a significant clinical impact. The overall assessment of the efficacy of non-surgical treatment of periodontitis, has value to inform training protocols as well as assess the quality of clinical service delivery. Furthermore, obstacles to successful treatment can be identified. The aim of the study was to determine the effectiveness of non-surgical periodontal treatment, as well as the factors that may determine treatment outcome at the postgraduate clinic in the Periodontology Department at the University of the Western Cape, Tygerberg Dental Hospital, between 2016 and 2018. A cross-sectional record-based study of 100 patients was conducted. Demographic, social, clinical, treatment data were obtained from the hospital files. Periodontal parameters including bleeding index (BI), Pocket Probing depth (PPD), Plaque index (PI), and clinical attachment level (CAL), were recorded at the initial visit (Pre-treatment) and follow-up visits (Post-treatment), and the final treatment outcomes were calculated based on the differences of these parameters’ values between the initial visit and the last follow-up visit. Data were presented as mean and range for continuous variables and as a frequency for categorical variables. Statistical analyses were performed to determine if there was a relationship between the varied factors and treatment outcome with p < 0.05 as statistically significant. The results showed that all 100 patients demonstrated a marked reduction in PPD, PI, BI, and loss of CAL. The overall mean PPD reduction was 0.32 (0.5), the mean reduction in PI and BI were 37.2 (24.08) and 34.61 (22.78), respectively, and the mean clinical attachment gain was 0.42 (0.97) mm. Treatment outcome showed no difference in PPD, PI, BI, and CAL between females, smokers, and patients with systemic conditions compared to males, non-smokers, and patients without systemic conditions. On the other hand, patients who underwent more maintenance treatment visits over a period longer than 2 months duration had significantly better outcomes compared to patients who had less than two months of duration of treatment. This study proved the effectiveness of the non-surgical surgical periodontal treatment at the postgraduate periodontal clinic. Treatment duration and frequency of recall visits were the most influential factor impacting the treatment outcome.