Brief Motivational Interviewing Kept Probing Depths Lower Three Years After Trial

Edited by Hygienetown staff

Periodontal maintenance patients who received brief motivational interviewing instead of traditional oral hygiene instruction had significantly better probing depths and clinical attachment levels throughout a one-year randomized clinical trial, and the probing depth results held at a three-year follow-up, according to research published online Oct. 27 in the International Journal of Dental Hygiene.

Researchers randomly assigned 60 participants to either four brief motivational interviewing sessions or traditional oral hygiene instruction. All participants received periodontal maintenance therapy during the one-year trial.

A masked examiner recorded probing depth, clinical attachment level, and recession at baseline, 4, 8, and 12 months, and again three years after the intervention ended. Fifty-eight participants, or 97%, completed the one-year trial, and 41, or 71%, returned for the three-year follow-up.

During the trial, the brief motivational interviewing group showed statistically significant differences in probing depth (P < .0001) and clinical attachment level (P = .0001) at every time point.

At three years, mean probing depth in the motivational interviewing group was 2.93 mm, which the authors reported as maintained (P < .0001). The difference in clinical attachment level was no longer statistically significant at three years (P = .81).

Ligia E. Castillo-Perez, Danna R. Paulson, Yvette G. Reibel, and Michelle C. Arnett of the Division of Dental Hygiene at the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry conducted the study with Michael D. Evans and Charles Seawell of the University of Minnesota. The research was supported by a Colgate Care Grant.

The authors wrote that the results highlight the value of brief motivational interviewing combined with periodontal maintenance therapy for long-term periodontal stability. The trial was small, and nearly 30% of participants did not return for the three-year follow-up.

Sources:
International Journal of Dental Hygiene, “The Impact of Brief-Motivational Interviewing on Probing Depths, Recession, and Clinical Attachment Levels: A Randomized Clinical Trial With a 3-Year Follow-Up,” published online Oct. 27, 2026: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/idh.70182
National Library of Medicine, PubMed, PMID 42946665: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42946665