Treatment of Chronic Periodontitis with Smoking Cessation Care and Periodontal Surgery in an Elderly Patient: A Case Report Including a 4-year Follow-up

This report describes a case of chronic periodontitis requiring treatment including smoking cessation care and periodontal surgery in an elderly patient with a long-term smoking habit. The patient, a 79-year-old man, presented with the chief complaint of hali-tosis. He had a 56-year history of smoking cigarettes. An initial examination revealed that 34.5% of sites had a probing depth (PD) of >= 4 mm, with 24.1% of sites showing bleeding on probing (BOP). Open bite and loss of appropriate anterior and lateral guidance were also found. Radiographic examination revealed extensive horizontal bone resorption in the maxillary and mandibular molars. Based on a clinical diagnosis of severe generalized chronic periodontitis, initial periodontal therapy consisting of plaque control, smoking cessation care, scaling and root planing, and caries treatment of #47 was performed. Prosthetic treatment with a removable partial denture was planned for #26, which was missing. The patient quit smoking at the end of initial periodontal therapy. Subsequently, surgical periodontal therapy including open flap debridement was performed on #16, #17, #18, and #27. Following reevaluation, a full metal crown (#47) and removal partial denture (#26) were placed. The patient was then placed on supportive periodontal therapy (SPT). Periodontal treatment including surgical therapy resulted in an improvement in PD and a reduction in the number of sites with BOP. The patient has not started smoking again since initial treatment. Improvement has been adequately maintained over a 4-year period. The present results suggest that even when a patient has been exposed to a risk factor for a long time, periodontal treatment and control of that risk factor can contribute to stabilization of periodontal conditions. Some problems with occlusion have persisted, however. Additional care is necessary to retain stable periodon-tal conditions during SPT.