Compliance with supportive periodontal treatment in private periodontal practice. A 14-year retrospective study

The purpose of this study was to determine the degree of compliance with supportive periodontal treatment (SPT) recommended in private periodontal practice and to determine if any significant differences existed in the characteristics of compliant, non-compliant, and erratically compliant patients. The study covered a period of 14 years (1977 to 1991) and included 521 patients who were classified by sex, age, socioeconomic class, disease severity, treatment rendered, and the year maintenance began. Compliance was categorized into four groups: complete compliance, erratic compliance, patients who discontinued SPT, and patients who never presented for SPT. Females began SPT more often than males (P = 0.054). Only 27.4% of the patients were in complete compliance at the end of the study. A significantly greater percentage of females (P = 0.032) and patients who had been treated by only scaling and root planing (P = 0.014) were in complete compliance. Drop-out rates from SPT tended to decrease during the first 6 years from 13.9% in the first 2 years to 9% in the sixth year. Thereafter, the percentage of patients presenting for SPT stabilized at 48.4% after 6 and 43.2% after 11 years. Younger patients (P = 0.04), those who had received only scaling and root planing (P = 0.008), and individuals in socioeconomic class I (P = 0.017) had a significantly lower tendency to drop out. The results confirm that compliance to SPT in private periodontal practice is far from ideal. Suggestions for improving compliance are discussed.