Estimation of the Periodontal Inflamed Surface Area by Simple Oral Examination

• Main Authors: Yoshiaki Nomura, Toshiya Morozumi, Yukihiro Numabe, Yorimasa Ogata, Yohei Nakayama, Tsutomu Sugaya, Toshiaki Nakamura, Soh Sato, Shogo Takashiba, Satoshi Sekino, Nobuo Yoshinari, Nobuhiro Hanada, Naoyuki Sugano, Mitsuo Fukuda, Masato Minabe, Makoto Umeda, Koichi Tabeta, Keiso Takahashi, Kazuyuki Noguchi, Hiroaki Kobayashi, Hideki Takai, Fusanori Nishimura, Fumihiko Suzuki, Erika Kakuta, Atsutoshi Yoshimura, Atsushi Saito, Taneaki Nakagawa
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-02-01
• Series: Journal of Clinical Medicine
• Subjects: periodontal diseases, periodontal pocket, health status indicators; periodontal inflamed surface area (PISA); item response theory
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/10/4/723

The periodontal inflamed surface area (PISA) is a useful index for clinical and epidemiological assessments, since it can represent the inflammation status of patients in one contentious variable. However, calculation of the PISA is difficult, requiring six point probing depth measurements with or without bleeding on probing on 28 teeth, followed by data input in a calculation program. More simple methods are essential for screening periodontal disease or in epidemiological studies. In this study, we tried to establish a convenient partial examination method to estimate PISA. Cross-sectional data of 254 subjects who completed active periodontal therapy were analyzed. Teeth that represent the PISA value were selected by an item response theory approach. The maxillary second molar, first premolar, and lateral incisor and the mandibular second molar and lateral incisor were selected. The sum of the PISAs of these teeth was significantly correlated with the patient’s PISA (R²= 0.938). More simply, the sum of the maximum values of probing pocket depth with bleeding for these teeth were also significantly correlated with the patient’s PISA (R²= 0.6457). The simple model presented in this study may be useful to estimate PISA.