Professional supragingival debridement is aimed at plaque elimination.A review of studies with duration of up to 1 year shows that professional supragingival debridement in conjunction with personal oral hygiene may result in plaque levels being reduced by about half compared with baseline values.Solely patient performed oral hygiene,however,has been shown to result in a reduction of only approximately 30% from baseline plaque scores.Lower plaque accumulations recorded in patients receiving frequent professional supragingival debridement may refect a positive infuence on oral hygiene compliance.

    The influence of supragingival plaque removal on the subgingival microbiota is the subject of controversy.Unfortunately,comparisons between studies on that topic are difficult due to major differences in study design.Variations in periodontal conditions such as degree of infammation and pocket depth,kind of pretreatment,patient performed oral hygiene,and supragingival instrumentation technique may influence the results.In addition,microbiological sampling and processing techniques vary greatly.Most studies examining the effects of supragingival plaque removal on the plaque in pockets deeper than approximately 3mm find no significant alterations in the subgingival microbiota.In contrast,some authors claim that professional supragingival debridement has relevant effects on subgingival microbiota such as a lowering of total viable counts,inreased proportions of gram-positive cocci and rods,and a decrease in periodontal pathogens such as Aa,Bf,Pg and Td.

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• Oral hygiene measures
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