Risk assessment for periodontal diseases

Area of Science:

• Periodontology
• Dental Public Health

Background:

• Periodontitis risk assessment is an emerging field.
• Reliable data now supports its integration into daily dental practice.

Purpose of the Study:

• To summarize existing periodontitis risk factors for practitioners.
• To provide a useful overview for clinical application.

Main Methods:

• Review and synthesis of current scientific literature on periodontitis risk.
• Categorization of identified risk factors based on their role (causative, indicative, susceptibility).

Main Results:

• Identified risks include smoking, age, diabetes mellitus, osteoporosis, HIV, irradiation, immunosuppressive drugs, specific bacteria, poor oral hygiene, bleeding on probing, disease history, and genetics.
• Risk factors vary in their link to causation, indication of future risk, or enhancement of susceptibility.
• Some risks, like smoking, are modifiable, while others, like age, are immutable.

Conclusions:

• Risk assessment is vital for effective periodontal diagnosis, treatment planning, and therapy.
• The goal is to minimize future periodontal deterioration by managing identified risks.
• An approach to achieving risk reduction is presented.