Neglect of Periodontal Disease

 

 

Unlike many other dental diseases, periodontal disease, until at an advanced or even irreversible stage is often symptom free, and the symptoms that do eventually present themselves to patients, such as bleeding gums, mobility and halitosis are considered by many patients to be part of the normal and inevitable ageing process

 

There is therefore a duty on the dentist to carry out a thorough clinical examination

 

If a patient has never, or rarely, been properly examined, it is clearly impossible to refute successfully an allegation of failure to diagnose periodontal disease. The CPITN (Community Periodontal Index of Treatment Need) scoring system is now in common use in general practice, and the narratives 1(c) (full case assessment) and 10 (c) (non-surgical treatment of periodontal diseases) of the NHS scale require a full periodontal charting.

Having made the diagnosis the patient must be informed and the appropriate treatment suggested

The

 

Perils and Pitfalls of Missing Periodontal Disease, Journal of the Medical and Dental Defence Unions Vol. 11 No. 1 January 1995 pp 15-16

Supervised Neglect

 137

 

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