Impact of Depressive Disorder on Periodontal Status: A Comparative Study

Background/Objectives. Periodontitis is a chronic inflammatory disease influenced by systemic and psychological factors, including depression. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), widely used to treat depression, may also affect periodontal healing. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical efficacy of full-mouth disinfection (FMD) in patients with periodontitis, with or without comorbid depression and SSRI therapy. Methods. Eighty participants were enrolled and divided into two groups: periodontitis only (n = 40) and periodontitis with depression (n = 40), the latter subgrouped by SSRI usage. Clinical parameters, including probing depth (PD), clinical attachment level (CAL), bleeding on probing (BOP), and plaque index (PI), were assessed at baseline and 12 weeks after FMD. Results. Following FMD, significant improvements were observed in PD, PI, and BOP across all groups (p < 0.001). In the non-depressed group, mean PD decreased from 4.26 ± 0.97 mm to 2.76 ± 0.56 mm (p < 0.001) and PI from 3.85 ± 0.70 to 1.05 ± 0.99. Patients with depression had higher initial PD (4.98 ± 1.05 mm) but still showed improvement to 3.08 ± 0.69 mm (p < 0.001). CAL improved significantly only in non-depressed individuals (p = 0.008), while no statistically significant CAL changes were observed in depressed patients (p > 0.05). SSRI therapy did not significantly influence treatment outcomes (p > 0.05). Conclusions. FMD is clinically effective in reducing periodontal inflammation in patients with or without depression. However, improvements in CAL were more pronounced in non-depressed individuals, suggesting that depression may partially attenuate periodontal healing.