Diagnosis of periodontal disease is
based on medical history, physical examination, periodontal screening and
recording, testing tooth movement, as well as x-rays.
In order to determine if the
individual is suffering from periodontal disease, the dentist gets a detailed
history of any dental issues, any medical conditions, current oral hygiene, as
well as history of medication and allergies.
After taking a detailed history
comes the physical examination. In this,
the dentist carefully looks for the color of oral mucosa, the gum tissue, inside
of the cheeks, tongue, any bleeding areas, redness or puffiness or
inflammation, etc. With the help of the
physical examination, the dentist is able to delineate out the disease pattern
through the various physical signs.
If an individual is suffering
from periodontal disease, there is a procedure known as periodontal screening
and recording, which is used to calibrate the severity of disease. In this test, the dentist with the help of a
mirror and a probe determines the depth of a pocket. The probe used is a manual probe, which
records the pocket in millimeters but these days there are new more
sophisticated and automatic probes available.
In order to measure the depth,
the probe is placed by the side of the tooth where as the pointer is placed in
the pocket. The dentist then stops
sliding the probe in the pocket when it touches the junction of the tooth and
the connective tissue.
There are three points on each
tooth that are being measured, three on the side of the cheek and three on the
tongue side. If the depth of the pocket
is deeper than 3 mm then this indicates the periodontal disease process.
The periodontal screening and
recording is known as the diagnostic test to confirm periodontal disease, it is
ranked much higher than x-rays as a diagnosing tool.
Another test that is utilized to
determine the extent of disease process is through tooth movement. It is through this test that the extent of
bone support loss is determined.
X-rays are taken to determine the
loss of bone supporting the teeth. There
are a total of eighteen x-rays that are taken to complete the full mouth
series.
