Periodontal Maintenance - A Review

Research has provided evidence that chronic inflammatory periodontal diseases are treatable. As a result of advances in knowledge and therapy, the great majority of patients retains their dentition over their lifetime with proper treatment, reasonable plaque control, and continuing maintenance care. However, there are some situations when traditional therapy is not effective in arresting the disease. In these instances the progression of the disease may be slowed, but eventually the teeth may be lost. Numerous studies have indicated that periodontal therapy in the absence of a carefully designed maintenance program invariably results in the relapse of the disease condition. Accordingly, periodontal care provided without a maintenance program deal with significant patient management and disease management issues. Hence maintenance therapy forms an integral part of periodontal therapy, with all treatment accomplishments  channeled  into achieving a healthy periodontal status that can be effectively maintained. In this regard, periodontal maintenance therapy becomes the most decisive aspect of dental treatment. This article gives an overview of the significance of periodontal maintenance therapy in maintaining the integrity of the periodontium.