Clinical parameters Clinical parameters were assessed using a North Caroline Periodontal Probe by the calibrated examiner at six sites. Full-mouth plaque scores were recorded by assigning a binary score to each surface (1 for plaque present, 0 for absent) and by calculating the percentage of total tooth surfaces that revealed the presence of plaque detected by the use of tablet. Similarly, a full-mouth percentage bleeding score was calculated after assessing dichotomously the presence of bleeding on probing from the bottom of the pocket when probing with a manual probe with a force of 0.3n. Full-mouth PPD and recession of the gingival margin were recorded at the same time with measurements rounded to the nearest millimeter.