Effect of periodontal surgery on oral health‐related quality of life in patients who have completed initial periodontal therapy

Background and Objective Patient-centered assessments are particularly important in periodontal treatment in which their concerns may differ from the traditional clinical endpoints. However, information is limited regarding the influence of periodontal surgery on patients' quality of life (QoL). The aim of the present study was to investigate the impact of surgical periodontal therapy on the oral health-related QoL of patients who have received initial periodontal therapy. Methods A three-center prospective clinical study design was used, with the study participants comprising patients with moderate to severe periodontitis. Following initial periodontal therapy, the participants received either surgical or non-surgical periodontal treatment. The Oral Health-related Quality of Life Model for Dental Hygiene (OHRQL instrument), was used to assess participants' oral health-related QoL at each periodontal assessment interval: baseline (phase I), after initial therapy (phase II) and after surgery or during supportive periodontal therapy (phase III). Results Seventy-six patients (26 non-surgery, 50 surgery) completed the third phase of OHRQL assessment and were subjected to data analysis. From phase II to III, an improvement was achieved in all clinical parameters (p < 0.05–0.001) in the surgery group, whereas no such improvement was observed in the non-surgery group. In both groups, a significant difference in total OHRQL score was noted between phases I and III (p < 0.001 for surgery and p < 0.05 for non-surgery). The OHRQL domain scores for pain and eating/chewing function showed a significant improvement between these time points. However, no further significant improvement in OHRQL scores was achieved from phase II to III. Conclusion A significant improvement in oral health-related QoL was noted between phases I and III in the surgery and non-surgery groups. Such improvement was less pronounced in the non-surgery vs. the surgery group. From phase II to III, neither surgery nor non-surgical treatment yielded significant improvement in oral health-related QoL.