title: Prevalence of chronic periodontal disease using probing depth as a diagnostic test.
abstract: The prevalence of chronic periodontal disease was investigated using the occurrence of diseased pocket sites as the diagnostic criterion. The study group comprised 250 dentally aware subjects aged 21-60 years, with a high number of teeth remaining in all age groups. The % of sites with a probing depth of greater than or equal to 4 mm was 16% for the total sample. Most diseased sites (69%) were in the 4-mm class, with only 4% at depths greater than or equal to 7 mm. 82% on the subjects had 1 or more sites greater than or equal to 4 mm. With probing depth as the sole criterion for diagnosis of chronic periodontal disease, prevalence in a sample is heavily dependent on the critical levels selected for probing depth and cut-off point. With critical levels of 4 mm for probing depth and 1 diseased site for the cutoff point, prevalence was 49% in the 21-30 year age group and 95% in the 51-60 year age group. A shift in cutoff point to 40 diseased sites gave a prevalence of 2% and 41%, respectively, in the 2 age groups. For a critical depth of 7 mm and a cutoff point of 1 diseased site, the prevalence was 2% and 43% for the 2 age groups, respectively. Aspects of importance for the decision-making process on disease are discussed.
authors: Department of Periodontology, School of Dentistry, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors: J
authors: J
authors: Bergström
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Eliasson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015588:Observer Variation; D010510:Periodontal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010514:Periodontal Pocket / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology; D010517:Periodontics / Q000295:instrumentation; D010518:Periodontitis; D015995:Prevalence; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology; D014070:Tooth