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Aim: To evaluate the clinical efficacy of subgingival ultrasonic instrumentation irrigated with essential oils (EOs) of residual periodontal pockets. Material and methods: Sixty-four individuals with chronic periodontitis were invited to participate in this randomized, double-blind, parallel, and placebo-controlled clinical trial. All subjects received non-surgical periodontal therapy. After reevaluation (baseline), residual pockets (pocket depth ≥5 mm) received test (ultrasonic instrumentation irrigated with EOs) or control therapy (ultrasonic instrumentation irrigated with negative control). Probing pocket depth (PPD), gingival recession (R), clinical attachment level (CAL), bleeding on probing (BOP), and plaque were assessed at baseline and after 4, 12, and 24 weeks. Differences between groups and changes over the course of time were analysed according to a generalized linear model. Results: There was a significant reduction in PPD and BOP, as well as a significant CAL gain in the two groups (p<0.001). Nevertheless, there were no differences between the groups at any time of the study. When only initially deep pockets (PPD ≥7 mm) were analysed, a significantly greater CAL gain (p=0.03) and PPD reduction (p=0.01) was observed in the test group. Conclusion: The adjunctive use of EOs may promote significant CAL gain and PPD reduction in deep residual pockets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the influence of efforts applied to modify the patients' behavior towards periodontal maintenance., Material and Methods: Patients were classified into three groups: Complete Compliance (participation in all visits), Irregular Compliance (irregular participation, one or more missing appointments), and Noncompliance (abandoned or never returned to the program). Complete compliers received usual procedures of the maintenance visit. The irregular compliers and non-compliers received usual procedures and strategies such as reminding next visit, informing patients on both periodontal disease and importance of maintenance, motivating the patient who showed an improvement in compliance. Thus, 137 patients were observed for 12 months., Results: The degree of compliance has increased significantly during this period (p=0.001). No association was detected between age or gender and compliance degree., Conclusions: The results have shown that the intervention applied had a favorable influence on the patients' compliance.