Plaque score changes based primarily on patient performance at specific time intervals

Patient plaque removal is a major component of periodontal therapy and should be continuously monitored during and following treatment. There do not appear to be studies which address plaque score changes achieved primarily by patient performance from the time of initial presentation to, during, and following active therapy. We assessed individual tooth surfaces and segment plaque scores for 24 adult subjects presenting with periodontitis, the majority of which was ADA case types III and IV, at 3 time points (initial presentation, post-initial preparation, and at 3 months following active therapy), using the O'Leary Plaque Index. The assessments describing surfaces and segments were made prior to any professional intervention. Analysis of buccal (B), interproximal (I), and lingual (L) plaque retentive surfaces at t-0 indicated the mean plaque index on B and L surfaces (30.7% and 41.9% respectively) was less than that on I surfaces (79.6%). At t-1 and t-2, the mean plaque index on all three surfaces was significantly (P less than 0.05) less than at t-0. Analysis of plaque indices in each of 6 segments at each time point revealed that plaque scores in all segments, except the mandibular right segment, were analogously reduced from t-0 to t-1 and to t-2. Our results indicate that plaque reduction for all subjects based primarily on patient performance consistently approaches or exceeds 50% on all surfaces and that interproximal surfaces present with and retain more plaque than buccal and lingual surfaces. Furthermore, patient plaque performance achieved at the time of post-initial preparation may be a predictor of the plaque control achievable during therapy based on patient performance.