[Diagnostic criteria of periodontal diseases]

The designation of a periodontal disease and its classification do not permit to draw conclusions as to its targeted therapy. Since the parameters needed for the diagnosis of periodontal diseases are very numerous, they should be reduced by a problem-oriented diagnosis which corresponds to the aims and objectives (treatment plan, course of the disease, assessment of the therapeutical success). The parameters to be determined should be of sufficient validity. Only such parameters should be included in a problem-oriented diagnostic chart. The parameters for indices should be selected according to this principle. The selection of the indices requires co-ordination, at which the respective objective of the examination must be considered.