Effect of psychosocial stress and coping strategies on non-surgical periodontal therapy in patients with generalized stage III/IV periodontitis: a longitudinal intervention study

• Published in: Clinical oral investigations 2023-07, Vol.27 (7), p.3479-3487
• Main Authors: Romano, Federica, Bebars, Ahmad, Ortu, Valentina, Bottone, Michele, Giraudi, Marta, Mariani, Giulia Maria, Baima, Giacomo, Aimetti, Mario
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Clinical outcomes; Coping; Coping behavior; Dental plaque; Dentistry; Gingiva; Gum disease; Health behavior; Medicine; Multivariate analysis; Periodontics; Periodontitis; Social interactions; Stress
• ISSN: 1436-3771; 1432-6981; 1436-3771
• DOI: 10.1007/s00784-023-04956-w

Objectives The aim of this longitudinal intervention study was to assess the impact of psychosocial stress and coping response strategies on the clinical outcomes in periodontitis patients treated with non-surgical periodontal therapy (NSPT). Materials and methods After the administration of psychological questionnaires, patients diagnosed with generalized stage III–IV periodontitis were categorized into different groups depending on their stress levels (10-item perceived stress level (PSS-10)) and coping response strategies (coping responses inventory (CRI)). Clinical data were collected 1 week before and 3 months after the completion of NSPT. Results Of the 90 patients included at baseline, 27 presented major and 63 minor stress levels, while 40 had avoidance and 50 approach coping behavior. All clinical parameters were similar at the baseline across different categories. At re-evaluation, full-mouth bleeding score (FMBS), mean probing pocket depth (PPD), and number of residual pathological pockets were significantly superior in groups with higher stress levels ( p