No differences in gingival health associated outcomes following single-visit scale and polish

Randomised controlled three-arm parallel clinical trial set in general dental practice.

Three hundred and sixty-nine patients were recruited to the trial. To be included patients had to be regular attenders aged 18 to 60 years with 20 or more teeth and BPE codes <3 and DT<4. They were excluded if they wore an intra-oral applicance or had systemic conditions or used medication that could predispose to periodontal disease. Participants were randomised to have single-visit scale and polish at 6 month, 12 month or 24 month intervals and treatment was carried out by nine hygienists and therapists. Randomisation was performed centrally at a distant site by the trial manager and participants were not informed for their treatment allocation until they returned for their 6-month recall. Allocation was not explicitly revealed to the dentist, and participants were asked not to reveal their allocation group to the dentist or the outcome examiner.

The primary outcome measure was presence of gingival bleeding. Secondary outcome measures were presence of plaque and presence and amount of calculus.

Data were collected for 83.5% of the original participants and 76.2% attended all five appointments. There were no statistically significant differences in prevalence of gingival bleeding at follow-up for each group: 6-month recall group 78.5%; 12-month group 78% and 24-month group 82% (p=0.746). There were also no differences between groups at follow-up for prevalence of plaque and calculus.

This trial did not identify any differences in gingival health associated outcomes for single-visit scale and polish provided at 6-, 12- and 24-month frequencies for healthy patients. However, the results are not conclusive and larger trials with more comprehensive measurements are needed.