Improving periodontal health – a team approach

How can periodontal health be improved by us all, involving every member of the primary care team to advanced secondary care in periodontology?

If periodontal care is to be effective, it needs a structured, long-term journey with our patients. The starting point is gathering baseline information, as comprehensive as possible, to enable accurate diagnosis, predict prognosis, and to devise a tailor-made plan for each of our patients. This journey is what the Periodontal Care Pathway sets out, as devised by the NHS primary dental care assessment workshops in 2009–10, aimed at improving patient outcomes and it is being tried out by the new contract pilot practices. It is important to share it and consider its implications as we plan for the future care of our patients.

The Periodontal Care Pathway depends on information gathered from three key domains:

Each of these domains already influence the extent of risk of periodontal diseases. Using the traffic-light system, the information and measurements taken will determine a patient's overall level of risk. Regardless of level of risk, all patients require motivation and oral hygiene instruction. The latest Adult Dental Health Survey1 indicated that 66% of the adult population have visible plaque.