Comparison between Periodontal Self-examination and Self-reported Periodontal Disease among Selected Adults in Kuala Lumpur

Periodontal disease, generally known as a silent disease, is one of the major global oral health burdens that contributes to tooth loss in adults. This study was to compare findings and agreement between periodontal self-examination (SE) and self-reported (SR) assessments in detection of periodontal disease among selected adult patients in Kuala Lumpur. The subjects were patients who attended the periodontic clinics in Faculty of Dentistry, UKM. Periodontal patients who met the inclusion criteria were randomly assigned into two groups, SE and SR groups. Patients in the SE group performed a periodontal SE using illustrated written manual with questionnaire, while those in the SR group answered questionnaire. Both groups were given similar content of questionnaire. Clinical oral examinations were carried out on all patients by a single trained calibrated examiner. A total of 172 patients (86 in each group) participated in the study with the mean age of 48 years (SD 12.6). Majority of them had severe periodontal disease. Only item “total number of teeth” had showed good agreement (p < 0.01) between groups. SR group showed higher sensitivity for all items (mobility, colour, recession and bleeding). Meanwhile, the SE group demonstrated higher specificity for items on mobility, recession and bleeding. Both SR and SE assessment areas were reliable in measuring total number of teeth in periodontal patients. SR assessment is more sensitive in detecting periodontal disease in terms of items for mobility, colour, recession and bleeding.