A method for defining the level of periodontal treatment need in a population of 15‐year‐old schoolchildren

Abstract

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 subgingival 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.