Patients' Expectations, Experience and Perceptions of Initial Periodontal Treatment Outcomes

Abstract

Objectives: Periodontal treatment success results from the elimination of infection, inflammation and the subsequent healing response. However, the improvement of periodontal conditions measured by routine clinical parameters may not be necessarily regarded as the successful treatment outcome in terms of patients’ view and perception. This study aimed to assess patients’ expectation, experience and perception of initial non-surgical periodontal therapy outcome; and to investigate the association of patients’ response with the way they think about the disease and the necessity of treatment. Methods: A longitudinal survey was conducted in 135 adult patients with periodontitis who were admitted to the Periodontology Clinic at the Prince Philip Dental Hospital. A questionnaire was given to all patients prior to commencement of the periodontal treatment, and a second questionnaire was completed by 54 subjects 3-6 months after the initial non-surgical periodontal therapy including oral hygiene instruction, scaling and root debridement.

Results: 89% of the patients had severe periodontitis. The patients had high expectations on most of their perceived periodontal problems to be dealt with through the periodontal treatment. 70% were very satisfied with the initial treatment results with significantly self-reported improvements in gum bleeding and gum swelling (P<0.05). Most subjects experienced less pain than they expected during the initial treatment period (p<0.004), and 82% were interested in the subsequent treatments to further improve their esthetic profiles. However, patients would expect a shorter treatment time and a low treatment fee for the initial treatment.

Conclusions: The present study shows that periodontal patients usually have high expectation to the initial treatments, and their experience and perception of the professional care are indeed favorable. They consider that their periodontal treatments are necessary to improve their oral health and social confidence (Supported by the Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Hong Kong).