Western Society of Periodontics

Review Articles

Volume Number 3, 1995

Perspectives on soft tissue management for the prevention and treatment of periodontal diseases

The author, through a review of the literature, expresses his opinion on the concepts of soft tissue management. His conclusions are as follows:

1. If scaling and root planing fail to resolve the signs of periodontitis, then access via surgery should be considered.
2. The parameters that are rated highest for reliability in projecting periodontal prognosis are mobility, plaque scores, and bone level on radiographs.
3. Since periodontal disease is site specific, soft tissue management requires monitoring all sites individually.
4. Nonsurgical procedures do not produce uniformly successful outcomes for every site.
5. Periodontal treatment is not surgical or nonsurgical but a continuum of both.
6. Nonsurgical therapy can yield varying degrees of success. However, when it is performed by proficient clinicians, successes can be achieved even in advanced cases. [C.S.]