A study of treatment planning: periodontal services for the elderly

A study was undertaken to explore how dentists use patient data to plan treatment. Three hundred forty-six general dentists used oral and general health findings to determine periodontal treatment for seven prototypic elderly patients. The results indicated that oral hygiene and major medications best discriminated between treatment plans. The number of periodontal services ordered was directly related to the number of restorative units and inversely related to the number of extractions and prosthetic devices. Differences between dentists were not accounted for by the training, experience, or attitudes of the dentists.