Effect of periodontal dressing on non-surgical periodontal treatment outcomes: a systematic review.

Abstract

Periodontal dressing has been advocated and showed some positive outcomes for placing over the surgical site after periodontal surgery. However, little is known about its effect on non-surgical therapy. The aim of this review was to assess the clinical effect of periodontal dressing when used after non-surgical therapy. Two examiners performed an electronic search in several databases for relevant articles published in English up to November 2013. Selected studies were randomized human clinical trials (prospective or retrospective trials) with the clear aim of investigating the effect of periodontal dressing placement upon periodontal non-surgical mechanical therapy. Data were extracted from the included articles for analysis. Three randomized clinical trials fulfilled the inclusion criteria and thus were included in the data analysis. Statistical analysis could not be carried out due to the lack of clear data of the included studies. However, descriptive analysis showed its effectiveness in improving clinical parameters such as gain of clinical attachment level and reduction of probing pocket depth. Placement of periodontal dressing right after non-surgical mechanical therapy can be beneficial in improving overall short-term clinical outcomes, although more controlled studies are still needed to validate this finding.