Premium
A method for defining the level of periodontal treatment need in a population of 15‐year‐old schoolchildren
Author(s) -
Len M. A.,
Davies R. M.
Publication year - 1975
Publication title -
community dentistry and oral epidemiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.061
H-Index - 101
eISSN - 1600-0528
pISSN - 0301-5661
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0528.1975.tb00316.x
Subject(s) - medicine , gingivitis , public health , dentistry , tooth loss , periodontal disease , population , balance (ability) , environmental health , physical therapy , oral health , nursing
In a public dental service with scarce resources, the presence of gingivitis in teenage children cannot necessarily be considered as indicating treatment need. However, it is suggested that early bone loss may be an important indication for treatment in teenage children and the aim of the present study was to determine whether the presence of early bone loss in 622 15‐year‐old children assessed by the measurement of loss of attachment could be predicted from more readily identifiable factors such as gingival bleeding or sub‐gingival calculus. However, such screening tests will make errors by including “healthy subjects” or excluding “diseased subjects”. The acceptable balance of these two kinds of error is a public health decision, a decision which may be affected by a number of variables, including the public's and profession's attitudes to the disease, the effectiveness of available treatments and the resources available.