Risk Assessment in Periodontal Disease

Risk assessment is the foundation stone for prevention, employing the latest evidence base to identify those patients who have a higher likelihood of developing a specific disease, then providing them with enhanced preventive care pathways. A key aspect involves persuading at risk people that they differ from the rest of the population and therefore have to work harder, both with their clinician and in their personal behaviours and home care strategies, if they wish to lower their risk of that disease developing.

Within the field of oral health, of the available risk assessment systems, periodontal risk assessment holds pride of place. This is because:

In 2002, the American Academy of Periodontology stated that risk assessment ‘should be part of every comprehensive dental and periodontal assessment’. A green paper calling for global action on periodontal disease endorsed by professional periodontal organizations throughout the world states ‘A critical element is that prevention needs to be tailored to the individual's needs through diagnosis and risk profiling’.¹⁰ The General Dental Council (GDC) places periodontal risk assessment firmly in its training requirements for undergraduates.¹¹ Steele's review of National Health Service (NHS) dental care services in 2009¹² stated that ‘For new patients there should be a formal oral health assessment to evaluate the risks of all major dental disease (decay, gum disease and oral cancer) and the need for treatment. Personalised prevention should be started’.