Impact of lifestyle change plus dental care programme on stress levels and periodontal status in chronic periodontitis patients

Abstract

Introduction: Periodontitis is a polymicrobial chronic disease modified by numerous factors, with stress and unhealthy lifestyles being associated with the progression of the disease. It is believed that cognitive-behavioural approaches can improve stress and lifestyle patterns which may subsequently improve oral hygiene-related behaviours. Materials and Methods: Hundred systemically healthy patients participated in the study. Patients with chronic periodontitis, stress (Social Readjustment Rating scale) and with unhealthy lifestyles (Abel's criteria) were selected for the study. The selected patients in the test group (n = 50) were provided with Individual lifestyle counselling and oral education programme along with non-surgical periodontal therapy, while the patients in the control group (n = 50) were provided with non-surgical periodontal therapy. Plaque index (PI), modified gingival index (GI) and probing depth were recorded at baseline and 3 months. The self-efficacy scale for self-care (SESS) was also recorded at baseline and 3 months. Means of all parameters were collected and subjected to Student's t-test. Results: Statistically significant (P ≤ 0.05) reductions were observed in both test and control group for PI, modified GI and probing depth. The SESS showed statistically significant improvement (P ≤ 0.01) in the test group as compared to the control group. Conclusion: Self-efficacy is related to numerous health-related practices such as diet and health-promoting lifestyle, and smoking cessation. The approaches applying the social cognition model are useful for the improvement of periodontal status and should be made part of regular treatment and maintenance regimens.

Keywords

• health
• lifestyle
• periodontitis
• self-efficacy