Relationship between life event stress and periodontitis and its response to treatment

Aims and objectives - The objective of this study was to assess the effect of life event stress on various clinical periodontal parameters like gingival index (GI), Oral hygiene index (OHI) and Clinical attachment level (CAL). Methods - 40 subjects between the age group of 25-60 years participated in the study. All the subjects filled a stress questionnaire. Based on this questionnaire, the individuals were divided into- Group A (stressed group) and Group B (non-stressed group). All the clinical periodontal parameters were examined and recorded as baseline. The subjects underwent supragingival scaling followed by subgingival scaling and root planing and the clinical parameters were re-evaluated at 1, 3 and 6 months. Pearsson correlation, Spearman rank correlation, independent t tests and group comparisons were used as statistical methods.Results - There was no statistical significance between stress and the mean scores of GI, OHI, CAL at baseline. The mean scores of GI, OHI and CAL were evaluated and compared at baseline and at 1, 3 and 6 months after non surgical periodontal therapy. There is no statistical difference in the mean scores of GI, OHI and CAL level for Group A and Group B.Conclusion - Thus stress is only a weak predictors for assessing the clinical periodontal parameters.