Long-term Stability of Splinted Teeth During SPT

Objectives: Assessment of periodontal stability in splinted mandibular incisors and canines with a questionable prognosis in patients with periodontitis.
Methods: 25 patients (9 male) with splinted anterior teeth in the lower jaw attending supportive periodontal therapy (SPT) for 3-15 years were recruited and reevaluated. All splints included at least one tooth with a mobility degree II or III at baseline before periodontal treatment (BL). 1 patient was not included in statistical analysis according to exclusion criteria. Tooth and patient related factors including age, total number of teeth, periodontal probing depth (PPD), clinical attachment-loss (CAL), diagnosis and number of splinted teeth were assessed before and after 3, 5, 7, 10, 12, and 15 years of SPT.
Results: Mean PPD of the overall dentition was 3.2±1.1 mm at BL. 3 years after active periodontal therapy and attending SPT, mean PPD decreased to 2.3±0.3 mm and remained stable over the observation period. For analysis of the splinted teeth at BL 97 teeth of 24 patients (n=24) were recorded. After 3 years 97 teeth (n=24) were included. At the following visits 5, 7, 10, 12 and 15 years after BL 81 (n=19), 78 (n=18), 58 (n=13), 25 (n=6) and 12 teeth (n=3) were included respectively. Only one tooth loss for the splinted teeth was recorded over observation period (7 years after BL). At BL mean PPD of the splinted teeth was 3.1±1.4mm and CAL was 5.7±1.8 mm. After 3 years values decreased to 2.0±0.6 mm and 5.3±1.6 mm respectively and did not change significantly over following observation period.
Conclusions: This study indicates that splinting of periodontally compromised mandibular anterior teeth with questionable prognosis in patients attending regular SPT seems to be a good option to stabilize their periodontal status.