Patient Characterization according to the New Classification of Periodontitis and Performance of the Latter as a Predictor of Tooth Loss

Abstract

There have been no reports of clinical evaluation of the new 2017 classification of periodontitis. The purpose of this retrospective study was to assess the characteristics of patients according to the new 2017 classification of periodontitis and to evaluate the latter as a prognostic tool for predicting tooth loss. The 700 patients (211 male, 489 female) included in this study had a mean (±standard deviation) age of 54.4 (±12.0) years at the baseline and underwent treatment for periods ranging from 6 months to 17 years 10 months. Twenty-one patients were classified as Stage I, 142 as Stage II, 392 as Stage III, and 145 as Stage IV. Ten patients were classified as Grade A, 386 as Grade B, and 304 as Grade C. The age of the patients at the baseline was significantly correlated with the staging. The rate of tooth loss increased as the stage and grade increased. Patients classified as stage I and stage II grade A did not suffer any loss of teeth. The annual tooth loss rates per patient (teeth/patient/year) were 0.01±0.05, 0.06±0.19, 0.11±0.23, 0.13±0.22, and 0.58±1.04 in stage II grade B, stage III grade B, stage III grade C, stage IV grade B, and stage IV grade C patients, respectively. These findings indicate that the new 2017 classification of periodontitis can predict tooth loss.