Abstract
A study was conducted to evaluate alterations in the pH of gingival crevicular fluid and clinical findings resulting from several types of periodontal procedures.
On the basis of clinical evaluation of 125 periodontally diseased teeth in 37 patients at their first visit, the patients were classified into the following 4 groups: a brushing group, a subgingival irrigation group, a scaling and root planing group, and a scaling and root planing with subgingival irrigation group. These groups were treated for four weeks.
Starting one week after initiation of each treatment, the pH of gingival crevicular fluid and clinical status of each area were examined every week. The clinical status of each site was assessed using clinical indices such as plaque index (P 1I), probing depth (PD), gingival index (GI) and gingival crevicular fluid flow (GCF). Another 41 teeth in 25 patients were used to study the effect of initial preparation using each of the above procedures. Before and after the procedures, the pH of gingival crevicular fluid and clinical status of each site were also exmined clinically.
Upon comparison of the data for each group, the following results were obtained. After the initial preparation, the pH of gingival crevicular fluid increased as the clinical findings improved and also increased with each of the procedures except for brushing, which had no effect on the clinical findings.
