In previous papers we have reported longitudinal results of periodontal treatment based on mean values for all treated teeth,1,2 and analysis based on mean values from the half mouths of patients.3 These methods of analysis, however, did not reveal specifically what happened over time to pockets of various depth and attachment levels.

CONVINCING EVIDENCE of new connective tissue 1 and epithelial attachment 2 following periodontal therapy has revived the interest in therapeutic methods aimed at reattachment. Although new attachment has been re ported following several modalities of treatment, 3-5 there is a remarkable lack of data from controlled clinical trials to indicate the short and long term potential for gain or loss of periodontal attachment following treat ment.

The role of personal plaque control in periodontal maintenance care was studied in 78 patients who had undergone periodontal therapy and were on 3-month recall for prophylaxis over 8 years. Variations in pocket depth and attachment levels were related to individuals with plaque scores above and below the median. The results also were analyzed by comparing the 25% of the sample having the lowest plaque scores with the 25% having the highest scores over 7 years of maintenance care. Students t test was used. It was found that personal oral hygiene as expressed in plaque scores was not critical for maintenance of post-treatment pocket depth and attachment levels in patients with professional tooth cleaning every 3 months. The initial post-treatment reductions in pocket depth and variations in attachment levels were more favorable in patients with good than with poor oral hygiene, but, these differences were not significant after 3 to 4 years of maintenance care.

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