Effect of nonsurgical periodontal therapy in pre and postmenopausal women with periodontitis: A systematic review

Aim: The aim of this systematic review is to provide a comprehensive summary of the current evidence regarding the efficacy and safety of nonsurgical periodontal therapy (NSPT) in pre- and postmenopausal women. Materials and Methods: We performed a systematic search of five databases until May 2022 with no language or date restrictions. We included experimental or quasi-experimental clinical studies in pre- or postmenopausal female patients (≥40 years). We considered NSPT as scaling and root planning (SRP). The primary outcomes were: periodontal index (PRI) by Russell, plaque index (PI) by Löe and Silness or O'Leary and adverse events. A secondary outcome was a change in the bone mineral densitometry T-score. Results: We included three studies but did not meta-analyze the studies due to high heterogeneity. Two studies were pre-post trials, and one was a nonrandomized controlled trial. One trial included both pre- and postmenopausal women and two studies only evaluated postmenopausal women. The studies that compared the effect of SRP in pre- and postmenopausal women found a statistically significant reduction in PRI and PI according to Löe and Silness, and O'Leary. Another study found that SRP plus vitamin D and calcium supplementation decreased PI values. No study reported adverse events. The nonrandomized controlled trial reported a high risk of bias, and the two quasi-experimental studies showed high quality. Conclusion: All the studies included in the analysis demonstrated the effectiveness of Non-Surgical Periodontal Therapy (NSPT) in both pre- and postmenopausal patients with periodontitis. However, future studies with higher methodological quality and larger sample sizes are necessary.