Update on the Roles of Oral Hygiene and Plaque Control on Periodontal Disease.

Aim: to provide an update of the evidence on the effect of oral hygiene instructions (OHI), dental plaque control and in the prevention and treatment of periodontitis.
Methods: Literature searches were performed using MeSH terms, keywords and free words and were published between 2015 and November 2020. The data from the articles were summarized in a narrative review.
Results: Data concerning the influence of OHI on periodontal features, the impact of OHI before periodontitis non-surgical treatment, its efficacity on periodontitis prevention and maintenance of healthy periodontium were summarized in the tables of the present narrative review.
Conclusion: as prevention is better than a cure, it is relevant to bring in light the role of oral hygiene instructions, the patient self-control of dental plaque as well as the professional mechanical plaque removal in the prevention of periodontitis.
(© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)