Periodontal furcation lesions: A survey of diagnosis and management by general dental practitioners

Abstract

Aim:The aim of this study was to explore general dental practitioners' (GDPs) attitude to periodontal furcation involvement (FI).Materials and methods: An online survey focused on diagnosis and management of periodontal FI was circulated to GDPs in seven different countries.Results: A total of 400 responses were collected. Nearly a fifth of participants reported rarely or never taking 6-point pocket charts; 65.8% of participants had access to a Nabers probe in their practice. When shown clinical pictures and radiographs of FIinvolved molars, the majority of participants correctly diagnosed it. Although 47.1% of participants were very/extremely confident in detecting FI, only 8.9% felt very/ extremely confident at treating it. Differences in responses were detected according to country and year of qualification, with a trend towards less interest in periodontal diagnosis and treatment in younger generations. Lack of knowledge of management/ referral pathways (reported by 22.8%) and lack of correct equipment were considered the biggest barriers to FI management. Most participants (80.9%) were interested in learning more about FI, ideally face to face followed by online tutorials.Conclusions: Plans should be put in place to improve general dentists' knowledge and ability to manage FI, as this can have a significant impact on public health.

Effectiveness of cordless techniques in gingival displa-cement. A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…39 Currently, polytetrafluoroethylene, enamel Extraction is also an option for teeth with furcation lesions and should be carefully evaluated taking factors, such as patient expectations, smoking, bone loss, and others into account. 11, 41 For those teeth that will inevitably be extracted, the placement of implants is an alternative strategy for rehabilitation with high chances of success and high survival rates. 43 However, history of periodontitis is an important risk factor for peri-implantitis, 44,45 a disease that has a complex approach, poor prognosis, increasing the risk of dental implant failure.…”

“…Over time, furcation defects represent a risk factor for the loss of additional clinical insertion with an adverse impact on the prognosis and response to treatment. 3 Regarding interventions, treatment of furcation defects is challenging due to the complicated anatomy and morphology of the furcation region, making debridement, adequate hygiene, and professional maintenance very difficult. 4 However, furcation defects are responsive to treatment and can have a favorable prognosis depending on the extent and under conditions of adequate control and hygiene.…”

Furcation involvement and tooth loss: A registry‐based retrospective cohort study

“…Furthermore, the risk of under-registration should be considered. A recent questionnaire-based study by Nibali et al (2021) including 400 general dental practitioners from seven different countries found that 34% of responders never used a Nabers probe and 44% only used it in patients with advanced periodontitis.…”

Development and validation of a rule‐based algorithm to identify periodontal diagnosis using structured electronic health record data

“…Compared with the previous classification introduced in 1999 (Armitage, 1999), the AAP/EFP 2017 World Workshop classification of periodontitis considers more clinical parameters, such as radiographic bone loss (RBL), pocket depth (PD) and furcation involvement, which are relevant to clinical practice. However, these additional clinical parameters also make the classification more sophisticated, which is challenging for less experienced dentists, dental hygienists and dental students to learn (Abou‐Arraj et al, 2021; Nibali et al, 2021; Oh et al, 2021). Therefore, a periodontal diagnosis clinical decision support (CDS) tool integrated within an electronic health record (EHR) can potentially assist care providers in arriving at an accurate periodontal diagnosis.…”