Effect of Non surgical Periodontal Therapy on Gingival Parameters of Diabetic and Non Diabetic Periodontitis Patients: A Prospective Clinical Study

Introduction: Non Surgical Periodontal Therapy (NSPT) has been an effective treatment for suppression of gingival inflammation and improvement of periodontal health in patients. Periodontitis and diabetes have an inter-relationship with each other. Surgical intervention is not always advisable for periodontitis with patients with diabetes. Hence, assessing the response of non surgical periodontal treatment in diabetic patients can lead to better and non invasive treatment options.

Aim: To evaluate the effect of NSPT by observing changes in Gingival Index (GI), Plaque Index (PI), Clinical Attachment Loss (CAL), and volume of Gingival Crevicular Fluid (GCF) in diabetic and systemically healthy periodontitis patients.

Materials and Methods: This was a prospective clinical study conducted in the Department of Periodontology, Rural Dental College, Loni, Maharashtra from January 2021 until June 2022. Total of 90 patients were assessed and were divided into three groups. Group A (n=30) included the patients with healthy periodontium and without any systemic disease. Group B (n=30) included the patients with controlled diabetes, with CAL in ranges of 3-4 mm (stage II periodontitis). Group C (n=30) included the patients who are systemically healthy, with CAL in ranges of 3-4 mm (Stage II periodontitis). Clinical parameters including GI, PI, Periodontal Probing Depth (PPD), CAL and volume of GCF were evaluated at baseline. NSPT was performed and parameters were evaluated after three months and then compared with baseline. Statistical analysis was done by descriptive statistics as mean, SD, percentage etc.

Results: Total of 90 patients were included, among which 44 were male patients and 46 were females, within the age range of 18-60 years. Patients were grouped 30 each in all three groups A, B and C with mean age 39.60±7.89, 45.70±10.02 and 43.90±9.64 respectively. The sites of group B showed statistically significant improvement in PPD at three months (1.80±0.76) compared to group C. Sites of group B also showed significant improvement in GI (1.46±0.45). There was no significant difference in the improvements of PI, Volume of GCF and CAL between group B and C at three months.

Conclusion: The present study demonstrated marked improvements in the clinical parameters and their outcomes when the systemically healthy periodontitis patients and diabetic patients are treated with NSPT.