Evaluation of a New Self-Reported Tool for Periodontitis Screening

Area of Science:

• Periodontology
• Dental Public Health
• Diagnostic Tools

Background:

• Periodontitis remains highly prevalent in industrialized populations.
• Effective screening programs for periodontitis are currently lacking.
• Early identification of high-risk individuals is crucial for timely intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a self-reported questionnaire for periodontal risk factors.
• To assess the combination of a questionnaire and the Periodontal Screening Index (PSI) for identifying treatment needs.
• To enable early recognition of patients at high risk for periodontitis.

Main Methods:

• A study involving 200 patients who completed a questionnaire and underwent PSI examination.
• Patients were categorized into groups based on PSI scores (0-2 for periodontitis, 3-4 for no periodontitis).
• A point system (0-8) based on known risk factors was used to evaluate questionnaire responses. Receiver-Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was employed.

Main Results:

• Significant differences were observed between groups for most questionnaire items (12 of 16, p<0.05).
• The total score demonstrated high statistical significance (p<0.001) in differentiating periodontitis.
• The Area Under the Curve (AUC) was 0.912, with 86% sensitivity and 76% specificity.

Conclusions:

• The questionnaire reliably assesses individual risk and the need for periodontal treatment.
• The tool effectively differentiates between gingivitis and periodontitis.
• Patient-reported data combined with clinical variables are sufficient for preliminary assessment of periodontal treatment needs.