Results of periodontal therapy related to tooth type

Certain teeth or groups of teeth are prone to develop more severe periodontal destruction than other teeth in the same individuals. A test was made to assess if these same teeth or groups of teeth also respond less favorably to periodontal therapy than other teeth. Data from a longitudinal study of periodontal therapy for 78 patients over 8 years were analyzed with regard to effect of tooth types on treatment results. The response to periodontal treatment was only marginally related to tooth type with the most favorable responses in the maxillary and mandibular anterior teeth and the least favorable responses in the maxillary molars and bicuspids. Although a number of these differences were significant statistically, the actual values were too small to be of appreciable clinical significance. The overall prognosis for treatment of periodontal pockets apparently is good for all tooth types and this observation applies to moderate as well as to deep pockets.