Little evidence of benefits from routine scale and polish for periodontal health

For adults without severe periodontitis accessing routine dental care, there was little or no difference in gingivitis, probing depths or quality of life over 2 to 3 years between routinely provided 6‐month S&P treatments, 12‐month S&P treatments and no scheduled S&P treatments (high‐certainty evidence). There was also little or no difference in plaque levels over two years (low‐certainty evidence). Routine S&P treatments produced a small reduction in calculus levels over 2 to 3 years when compared with no scheduled S&P treatments, with 6‐month treatments reducing calculus more than 12‐month treatments (high‐certainty evidence). The importance of these reductions for patients and clinicians was unclear.