Clinical efficacy of periodontal endoscopy-assisted subgingival scaling and root planning and its effect on psychology and quality of life in patients with periodontitis

Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy and effects of periodontal endoscope (PE)-assisted subgingival scaling and root planning (SRP) and traditional SRP on the psychological and quality of life of patients with periodontitis. Methods This study was reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee, and informed consent was obtained from the patients. Patients with periodontitis who were treated in the Department of Periodontology, Nanjing Stomatological Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University from April 2018 to December 2022 with residual periodontal pockets (PD ≥ 5 mm) 6 weeks after traditional SRP treatment were enrolled, and the residual periodontal pockets were further treated with PE-assisted SRP (PE+SRP). After 6 weeks of traditional SRP treatment and 3 months of PE+SRP treatment, clinical indicators, including plaque index (PLI), probing depth (PD), clinical attachment loss (CAL) and bleeding on probing (BOP), were measured, and periodontal tissue self-awareness scale scores, oral health impact profile-14 (OHIP-14) score and dental fear scale (DFS) score were collected. Moreover, visual analog scale (VAS) scores were collected after traditional SRP and PE-assisted SRP treatments. Results Twenty-three patients with periodontitis, including 832 sites of 486 affected teeth, were included in the clinical study. Three months after PE+SRP treatment, all clinical periodontal indicators, PLI (t = 9.254, P