A New Method for Volumetric Analysis of Soft‐Tissue Changes Using Three‐Dimensional Imaging in Patients With Periodontitis

AimsTo quantify changes in soft‐tissue volume induced by non‐surgical periodontal therapy (NSPT) in patients with periodontitis and correlate them with clinical parameters and smoking. A new digital approach is investigated because standard periodontal clinical assessment methods are unable to accurately capture volumetric changes.Materials and MethodsThirty‐nine subjects with periodontitis aged 27–70 years (median 48; 51% females; 49% smokers) were included. All subjects underwent clinical examination and intraoral scanning at baseline and 8 weeks after NSPT. Digital models were superimposed, and changes in volume were analysed and correlated with clinical parameters.ResultsNSPT reduced soft‐tissue volume in both smokers and non‐smokers (p < 0.001). Non‐smokers had a higher median change in volume than smokers (267.4 vs. 210.5 mm3), without statistically significant differences. Periodontal clinical parameters linearly correlated with soft‐tissue volume changes. In multiple linear regression, a higher initial proportion of pockets ≥ 5 mm was the only predictor of volume change when the effects of change in plaque score, smoking status, age and sex were controlled for (p = 0.015).ConclusionNSPT resulted in comparable reductions in soft‐tissue volume for both smokers and non‐smokers, which was confirmed by a new digital approach.Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT05719519, 25.01.2023