Supportive Periodontal Therapy (SPT)

Supportive Periodontal Therapy (SPT)

Supportive Periodontal Therapy is carried out after completion of active periodontal treatment; it must be stressed that it is a vital, ongoing, part of successful periodontal therapy. The objective of SPT is to maintain improvements made by the active periodontal treatment and to minimise recurrence of the disease.

Research has demonstrated that patients who attended SPT, as advised by the periodontist, had considerably less tooth loss and significantly reduced pocket depths than patients who failed to attend.

Hygienist Appointments

Recommended as part of SPT are regular Dental Hygienist appointments.

The regularity of SPT is determined at your reassessment appointments by Dr Nissen. At these appointments the following is carried out;

• Review of medical history (important factors include diabetes, smoking, pregnancy and medications)
• Oral health check
• Plaque and bleeding indices ( statistical data assessment)
• Assessment of patient oral hygiene
• Note of current periodontal condition
• Implant assessment if applicable
• Treatment:
  • Cleaning, removal of plaque and hard deposits
  • Pocket cleaning if indicated by assessment
  • Polish
  • Oral hygiene instruction and motivation
  • Advice on risk factors such as nutrition, stress and smoking
• Advice on frequency of SPT appointments
• Consult with Dr Nissen on treatment progress

SPT is provided under the supervision and prescription of Dr Nissen who will continue to assess patients at regular intervals.

SPT  Appointment by Dr Nissen

At each SPT appointment a full reassessment of the current periodontal condition is assessed and is compared to the base line data collected at the first consultation appointment. This includes the following:

• Update of medical history
• Change of environmental factors such as smoking and stress
• Complete periodontal examination and reassessment of residual pockets
• Assessment of oral hygiene
• Comparison of data with previous visit(s)
• If indicated updated  radiographs taken
• Results and diagnosis
• Treatment, if required, of localised active disease.
• Explanation of current periodontal status and recommendation for future treatment/management.
• Letter to patients’ general dentist informing of treatment progress and recommendations.

SPT Appointment with the Hygienist, Jacquelin Ritchie

After the active phase of treatment is completed the  management of the disease

Presence of bleeding on probing
Prevalence of residual pockets
Number of teeth lost
Evidence of further loss of periodontal support in relation to the patient’s age
Systemic and/or genetic conditions
Environmental factors such as cigarette smoking