Il metodo UniFe per la valutazione del rischio parodontale

Abstract

Objectives

Periodontitis progression varies widely among individuals, either with or without treatment. Not all risk determinants for periodontitis are relevant for diagnosing the disease. The purpose of the present report is to present two cases, which show how a simplified method for periodontal risk assessment (UniFe), developed by the Research Centre for the Study of Periodontal and Peri-implant Diseases, University of Ferrara, can identify differences in periodontal risk among individuals with similar severity of periodontitis.

Materials and methods

The UniFe method is described in detail, and its use is illustrated for calculating periodontal risk in two patients with similarly severe periodontitis.

Results

Periodontal risk assessment with the UniFe method revealed different risk levels in the two patients. The UniFe method revealed that the worse prognosis in one of the patients was due to exposure to environmental risk factors (i.e., smoking) and a higher prevalence of gingival bleeding.

Conclusions

Preliminary data suggest that the UniFe method is a simple and reliable tool for periodontal risk assessment and that it can identify differences in periodontal risk among individuals with similar severity of periodontitis.