Fast Facts: Perio Edition Episode 23
[Andrew Johnston, RDH]
Welcome back, everyone. You are listening to another episode of Fast Facts- Perio Edition brought to you by A Tale of Two Hygienists in partnership with DentistRX. And now, please welcome your host, Katrina Sanders.
[Katrina Sanders, RDH]
Hello and welcome to Fast Facts: Perio Edition. This week, we're going to take a look at the current prevalence of diseases of the periodontium. And you guys, I'm going to try to not get passionate about it, but I can't promise that I'm not going to get passionate about this because this is a topic that is extremely near and dear to my heart.
So if you don't just mind, let's dive right in! Beginning by talking about the national prevalence of periodontitis. Now, I think we all remember in 2016 when the ADA published in tandem with the Department of Health and Human Services research about the estimation of prevalence of periodontitis across United States adults. The Journal of Dental Research published this article stating that the estimation right now is upwards of 47.2% of U.S. adults between the ages of 30 and 79 have some form of periodontitis.
I want to clarify, periodontitis is defined as the irreversible form of a disease of the periodontium. So one could theoretically say that nearly one in two U.S. adults between the ages of 30 and 79 have some form of irreversible disease in their mouth. What's more, 93.9% of the remaining patient population, the individuals who do not have attachment loss, 93.9% have gingivitis.
Now, to clarify, gingivitis is loosely termed as the reversible inflammatory condition of the periodontium, and gingivitis itself is classified as a disease of the periodontium.
What's more, 55.7% of the individuals who do not have periodontitis but do have gingivitis, 55.7% of those individuals have a gingival index over 1 indicating they have moderate to severe gingivitis.
Now, I don't know about you. I grew up in a very humble Midwest household where I have incredible PTSD from my dad teaching me high school math while crying at the dining room table. So I did some research. I called my dad. I said, Dad, I need some help here.
So if 47.2% of our adult patient population happens to have perio and of the remaining individuals 93.9% have gingivitis, but even more so, 55.7% of those people have gingivitis. That is either a gingival index over 1 indicating moderate or severe gingivitis. Help me out, Dad. What is the percentage of individuals who have moderate to severe gingivitis? And that number is 27.6% of our patient population. That is according to my Midwest dad by the way.
In the remaining patient population, we are looking at 25.2% of those individuals who are considered either healthy or incipient gingivitis. And to clarify even more, the population of true individuals, of individuals who are adults, who do not have irreversible bone loss at this point, that percentage is 3.2%. So 3.2% of our patients are considered truly healthy patients. 22% of those individuals are considered incipient gingivitis. So those are considered the patients that are excellent candidates for a preventive therapy. 27.6% of our patients have moderate to severe gingivitis. These are individuals who do have an active disease of the periodontium, albeit reversible, but still a disease of the periodontium. And finally, 47.2% of our patients have some form of periodontitis, whether that is mild, moderate, severe or stable on a reduced periodontium stabilized periodontitis cases.
Thank you so much for joining me this week and thank you for going on this extremely passionate magic carpet ride with me as we talk about the prevalence of diseases of the periodontium. Have a great week, everyone!
This has been another episode of Fast Facts - Perio Edition with Katrina Sanders, RDH. Please feel free to reach me on Instagram @thedentalwinegenist or on my website www.KatrinaSanders.com Cheers.
[Andrew Johnston, RDH]
Thank you for listening to another episode of Fast Facts - Perio Edition, brought to you in part by DentistRX makers of the InteliSonic line of power brushes. Find out more by visiting their website at www.dentistrx.com. We'll see you next week for another Fast Fact!
