Periodontal Classification Revisited: The Classification System in the Test of Time

At the EuroPerio conference held in Amsterdam in 2018, an update to the previous classification of periodontal diseases was presented. The update was a joint effort of the American Academy of Periodontology (AAP) and the European Federation of Periodontology (EFP). On the face of it, the new classification system for diagnosing periodontal diseases and conditions is merely an update of previous definitions from 1999. However, upon close examination, it is much more than another semantic change of old definitions. The new classification rocks the ground upon which generations of pre- and post-graduate students and specialists in the field have stood. It is a perceptual change in the way clinicians describe, diagnose, and ultimately treat periodontal patients.