Improved periodontal status through self-assessment. A 2-year longitudinal study in teenagers

Short-term success of the use of self-assessment for motivating adults to improve their oral health status has been reported. The purpose of this trial was to evaluate the long-term effectiveness of two self-assessment strategies, one focused on gingival bleeding (group I) and another focused on plaque (group II). At baseline, 493 14- and 15-year-olds were assigned randomly to a group. Each subject was given a manual describing one of the self-assessment processes. Dental hygienists provided standardized classroom based instruction and two weeks later, individualized counselling. Examinations were conducted at baseline 6, 12, 18 and 24 months for gingival bleeding on probing, plaque, calculus, and probing depth; and at baseline and 24 months for recession and decayed, missing and filled surfaces (DMFS). Following the 12-month examination, subjects received an oral prophylaxis and individual counselling. The results revealed no statistically significant differences between groups for any clinical parameter at the final examination. However, the mean number of sites with gingival bleeding decreased steadily from baseline to 24 months with a 59% decrease and 55% decrease for groups I and II, respectively. This study suggests that self-assessment approaches can be effective in improving the long-term periodontal health status of teenagers.