Diagnosis, progression, prognostic indication and classification of periodontal disease: a review (Part 1)

This review is divided into a series of three papers. In the first, the prevalence of periodontal disease and the diagnostic problems in screening for high risk groups of patients will be reviewed. The difficulties encountered in differentiating between disease activity and historical evidence of past disease will also be considered along with the wide variation in disease progression rates. Having discussed diagnosis and disease activity markers, an accepted classification of periodontal diseases will be described. In the second paper, those periodontal diseases described as Gingivitis will be discussed. Finally in the third paper, Periodontitis will be reviewed with some emphasis being placed on the involvement of the periodontal tissues in systemic diseases.