What are the Current Problems and Major Challenges of the Care for Periodontal Health

The worldwide prevalence of periodontal diseases is 5-20% in the adult population. Periodontitis is the second largest oral health problem, affecting 10-15% of the world s population. The most severe forms of periodontal diseases significantly affect adults, which are 35-44 years of age with prevalence of 19%. The recent systematic reviews of the Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) in 2010 that use a large dataset of 291,170 individuals (aged 15–99) from 37 different countries show that severe periodontitis is the sixth most prevalent among all 291 diseases and conditions, affecting 11,2% of the global population, or 743 million people. According to some authors severe periodontitis has significant socioeconomic impacts and it indeed accounts for a surprisingly high global cost (US$54 billion yearly) of lost productivity. According to the American Academy of Period ontology, chronic periodontitis is more prevalent among adults; the amount of bone loss is compatible with local characteristics; subgingival calculus is a common finding; and the disease usually has slow to moderate progression. Notably, chronic periodontitis is the major cause of severe tooth loss and edentulism in the adult population worldwide.