Dispositivo de retenção prolongada de clorexidina adjunto a raspagem e alisamento radicular no tratamento da periodontite: série de casos

Abstract

Objective: Chlorhexidine (CHX) is the most effective substance in controlling dental plaque. This study aims to evaluate the potential additional effect of using an innovative CHX retention device in the chemical control of biofilm when associated with scaling and root planing (SRP) in the treatment of periodontitis, and its impact on patients’ quality of life. For this purpose, five patients diagnosed with generalized periodontitis were treated with SRP associated with 0.12% CHX gel, delivered via individualized and adapted trays, kept in the mouth for 6 hours during sleep, over a period of 60 days, starting immediately after the SRP sessions. The participants completed a questionnaire regarding self-perceived health (OHIP-14) before beginning treatment and after 60 days of follow-up. Considering the evaluated periodontal clinical parameters, a significant improvement was observed in probing depth (PD), which showed an average reduction of 0,6 ± 0,3 mm. The bleeding on probing (BOP) decreased by 31,4 ± 14,4 % of sites. The visible plaque index (VPI) was present in 86,1 ± 11,2 % of initial sites and only in 58,0 ± 17,1 % at the end of the 60- day follow-up. Additionally, clinical attachment level (CAL) showed an average gain of 0,8 ± 0,5 mm. The OHIP-14 demonstrated a positive impact of treatment on quality of life and a decrease in pain intensity perceived by the patient. Some factors that make this technique promising include its reduced cost and ease of reproducibility. Thus, in the case series, the use of the 0.12% CHX gel device combined with SRP resulted in improvements in the evaluated clinical parameters, along with enhancements in quality of life.