Clinical outcomes of quadrant root planing versus full-mouth root planing

Objectives: To determine the clinical effects of full mouth compared with quadrant wise scaling and root planing. Method: Twenty patients with chronic periodontitis (>2 teeth per quadrant with probing pocket depths (PPD) ≥ 5 mm and bleeding on probing (BOP) were randomized into a test group treated in two sessions with subgingival scaling and root planing within 24 h (full-mouth root planing (FMRP)) and a control group treated quadrant by quadrant in four sessions in intervals of 1 week (quadrant root planing (QRP)). PPD, relative attachment level (RAL) and BOP were recorded at baseline, 3 and 6 months. Results: Analysing first quadrant data, in moderately deep pockets (5 mm < PPD < 7 mm) there was no evidence for a difference (FMRP-QRP) between both groups for PPD reduction (mean: - 0.128 mm; CI: [- 0.949, 0.693]; p = 0.747), RAL gain (mean: 0.118mm; CI: [- 0.763, 1.000]; p = 0.781), and BOP reduction (mean: - 20.1%; CI: [- 44.3, 4.2]; p = 0.099). Likewise, no significant differences between treatments were found for initially deep pockets (PPD ≥ 7 mm), neither for first quadrant nor for whole mouth data. Conclusion: The results of the present study demonstrated equally favourable clinical results following both treatment modalities.