Compliance with supportive periodontal therapy. Part II: Risk of non-compliance in a 10-year period.

Supportive periodontal therapy (SPT) is needed for the success of periodontal therapy; however, patient compliance is poor. Part II of this study analyzes compliance during a 10-year period in an attempt to identify the profile of patients with a higher risk of becoming non-compliant. Data from the records of 874 patients from a private periodontal clinic who had completed active periodontal treatment up to 10 years before and had begun supportive periodontal therapy were analyzed for risk of non-compliance and compliance. The factors evaluated were gender (326 males and 548 females), type of therapy (surgical or non-surgical) and age (< or = 30 years, 31 to 40, 41 to 50, and > or = 51 years old) and the association amongst them. In the period studied, compliance with SPT was 45.8%. Forty-three percent of males and 47% of females discontinued SPT. In the surgical group 43.9% were non-compliant and in the non-surgical group 53.2% were non-compliant. Fifty-nine percent of the patients < or = 30 years of age were also non-compliant. Female patients < or = 30 years and > or = 51 years of age that underwent non-surgical therapy were found to be of higher risk for non-compliance in the 10-year period studied.