2026 Volume 76 Issue 1 Pages 38-44
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the validity of a self-check for periodontal disease including a self-assessment of the participant’s own periodontal tissue.
The subjects were 3,702 adults who participated in a workplace dental check-up. They completed a questionnaire containing the following self-check items regarding periodontal disease: bleeding on tooth brushing, gingival swelling, smoking habits, use of dental floss or interdental brush, experience of tooth brushing instruction, and history of dental health check-ups. They also self-assessed their own periodontal tissue of the labial gingiva of mandibular anterior teeth using a hand mirror and reference images showing healthy gingiva, gingivitis, and periodontitis. A dentist examined the subjects and scored their periodontal tissue using the Community Periodontal Index (CPI). The data of 3,099 subjects aged 20–65 years were included in the analysis. They were divided into those with periodontitis and non-periodontitis based on self-assessment of their own periodontal tissue; periodontitis was defined as a CPI score of ≥3, and the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of the periodontal disease self-check were calculated.
Regarding gingival bleeding and swelling in the self-check of periodontal disease, sensitivity and positive predictive values were higher in the periodontitis group with self-assessment of the participant’s own periodontal tissue than in the non-periodontitis group. The rate of agreement between self-assessed periodontitis and the corresponding CPI score was 2.8%.
These results suggest that self-assessment of the participant’s own periodontal tissue may improve the accuracy of determining oral manifestations on self-assessing periodontal disease. It is necessary to consider the contents and methods of periodontal disease self-check, including self-assessment of the participant’s own periodontal tissue.
