A 2010 journal article found that if you ask 3 different people to measure the probed pocket depth, they will agree exactly about 55% of the time and they’ll be within 1mm of each other 97% of the time.
There are also other symptoms to look for besides depth before a diagnosis should be given (e.g. bleeding and bone loss).
The American Academy of Periodontology published 2 tables that walk the user through staging and grading periodontitis. The tables include the following factors:
Amount of bone loss visible when looking at the tooth directly
Amount of bone loss visible from looking at an x-ray
Number of teeth with bone loss
The type of bone loss
Maximum probing depth
Whether there’s a pattern to the affected teeth (are they all next to each other?)
Amount of biofilm/plaque
Smoking: Yes or no
Diabetes: Yes (and if yes, how well-controlled is it) or no
A 2010 journal article found that if you ask 3 different people to measure the probed pocket depth, they will agree exactly about 55% of the time and they’ll be within 1mm of each other 97% of the time.
There are also other symptoms to look for besides depth before a diagnosis should be given (e.g. bleeding and bone loss).
The American Academy of Periodontology published 2 tables that walk the user through staging and grading periodontitis. The tables include the following factors:
Amount of bone loss visible when looking at the tooth directly
Amount of bone loss visible from looking at an x-ray
Number of teeth with bone loss
The type of bone loss
Maximum probing depth
Whether there’s a pattern to the affected teeth (are they all next to each other?)
Amount of biofilm/plaque
Smoking: Yes or no
Diabetes: Yes (and if yes, how well-controlled is it) or no