Periodontics in the next millennium

This article prognosticates where periodontology will be in the next millennium. The forecasting of such events is wrought with confusion because such predictions are shadowed by bias, dogmatism, prejudice, experiences, and opinions from either a closed or open mind. The results of the survey from 101 periodontists reflect opinions from varied backgrounds, years of clinical experience, and individual levels of success or failure. The responses cannot be tested for accuracy or duplicated by another survey except to wait out the test of time for the year 2025. Clinicians will be challenged to make decisions on accepting new techniques and concepts as these are brought into the therapeutic fold of periodontics. The clinician will be met with new possibilities as a paradigm shift is inevitable for periodontal practice in the next millennium. After all, who would have thought in the 1960s, the soft tissue augmentation era, that 22 years later in 1982, the regeneration of the lost attachment apparatus (alveolar bone, cementum, and periodontal ligament) would become a reality. This survey strongly suggests that by the end of the first quarter of the twenty-first century, local delivery of antimicrobials, growth and differentiation factors, and root biomodification agents will have a major impact on the practice of periodontics. One thing is certain, in the next millennium, considering the responses from this survey, a new era in periodontics will be here. By the year 2025, the research, development, and dissemination of new periodontal knowledge will be beyond the imagination from what was considered usual and customary for the twentieth century.