The statement is intended to encourage dental professionals to use risk assessment as a key component of all comprehensive dental and periodontal evaluations...

AAP Releases Statement on Risk Assessment

Statement intended to help dental professionals better manage patients’ oral health.

CHICAG—February 19, 2008—As part of its ongoing commitment to the prevention and treatment of periodontal diseases, the American Academy of Periodontology (AAP) recently released a Statement on Risk Assessment can't open this pdf page? download acrobat reader. Published in the February issue of the Journal of Periodontology, the statement is intended to encourage dental professionals to use risk assessment as a key component of all comprehensive dental and periodontal evaluations.

Research has demonstrated that a variety of factors can influence the development, presentation and progression of periodontal disease. These risk factors include smoking, poor oral hygiene, the presence of other disease states, such as diabetes or heart disease, gender, age and number of missing teeth. Assessing the patient’s risk factors allows the dental professional to better predict the likelihood that the patient will develop periodontal disease and can assist in prevention or early identification of the disease.

“It is advantageous for a dental professional to evaluate a patient’s various risk factors for periodontal disease,” explains Dr. Susan Karabin, DDS, President of the AAP. “Considering risk factors as part of the treatment planning process allows for proactive management of the patient’s oral health, and can potentially reduce the need for more complex periodontal procedures in the future. The AAP statement hopes to compel more dental professionals to take a full inventory of their patients’ health, especially any applicable risk factors, when determining the best course of treatment.”

While additional research is needed to determine the specific predictive value of individual risk factors on a patient’s periodontal health, preliminary studies have suggested that proactive, targeted treatment may ultimately reduce a patient’s risk for aggressive disease and may reduce overall health care costs.

About the AAP

The American Academy of Periodontology (AAP) is the professional organization for periodontists—specialists in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases affecting the gums and supporting structures of the teeth, and in the placement of dental implants. Periodontists are also dentistry’s experts in the treatment of oral inflammation. They receive three additional years of specialized training following dental school, and periodontics is one of the nine dental specialties recognized by the American Dental Association. The AAP has 8,000 members worldwide.

For more information, contact the AAP Public Affairs Department at meg@perio.org or 312/573-3242.

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