Efficacy Evaluation of Combination Therapy in Patients with Generalized Periodontitis According to the Index Estimation of Periodontal Status: Experimental Randomized Single-Arm Study
Authors: Romanenko A. R. , Sirak S. V. , Shamanova Z. K. , Verevkina Yu.  V. , Bykova N. I. , Lenev V. N. , Arutyunov A. V. 
Published: August 2023

Background. Treatment and prevention of inflammatory periodontal diseases represent a serious general medical and social problem, which remains relevant due to the significant prevalence of periodontitis among the population, as well as the associated loss of teeth and the negative impact of periodontal foci of infection on the body as a whole. Chronic generalized periodontitis is difficult to treat: it is only possible to achieve periods of remission. Therefore, it is of great theoretical and practical importance to develop further ways to improve methods for treating inflammatory-dystrophic damage of periodontal tissues in chronic generalized periodontitis.

Objective. To perform an index estimation of treatment efficacy in patients with moderately severe chronic generalized periodontitis.

Methods. An experimental randomized single-arm study was conducted examining 204 patients diagnosed with moderately severe chronic generalized periodontitis. Patient examination and data analysis were carried out at the Dentistry Department of the Stavropol State Medical University and the Department for General Practice Dentistry of the Kuban State Medical University in 2021–2022. The study included patients aged 35 to 65 years diagnosed with moderately severe chronic generalized periodontitis. Patients with somatic diseases in the decompensation stage were not eligible for the study. The patients were randomly divided into three groups (closed-envelope method). Group 1 was treated using conventional methods. As well as conventional therapy, Group 2 was prescribed vitamin D (Aquadetrim® at a dose of 5000 IU once per day while monitoring vitamin D blood level). The third group of patients was prescribed conventional therapy along with the developed pharmacotherapy, which included vitamin D (Aquadetrim® at a dose of 5000 IU once per day), vitamin A (3.44% oil solution of retinol acetate at a dose of 50 000 IU, 15 min after a morning meal), and 2-ethyl-6-methyl-3-hydroxypyridine (Mexidol® at a dose of 125 mg twice a day). In each patient, the treatment efficacy was analyzed in adjacent oral cavity segments (split-mouth design) according to clinical pocket depth, attachment loss, and bleeding on probing. Also, the authors used the X-ray index to assess the condition of osseous structures and the simplified oral hygiene index. The specified indices were estimated prior to treatment and at one and 12 months following treatment. The statistical analysis of study results was performed using Excel Microsoft Office 2016 (Microsoft, USA).

Results. The obtained data indicate that the immediate clinical outcomes (after one month) of combination therapy in patients from all three groups were approximately the same. However, the efficacy of treatment measures in the long-term period (12 months) was different, as evidenced by the dynamics of index values. Only in Group 3 patients, the full implementation of pharmacotherapeutic measures as part of the combination therapy of periodontitis ensured a stable therapeutic effect throughout the entire period of observation.

Conclusion. The data obtained 12 months following treatment indicate that the additional prescription of the developed pharmacotherapy contributed to prompt inflammation relief in periodontal tissues, providing a stable treatment outcome and long-term remission.