Periodontitis and Italians (2016-2020): need for clinical guidelines to perform effective therapy

Periodontitis or periodontal disease is a chronic inflammatory destruction of tissue surrounding the teeth caused by specific anaerobic pathogens contained in dental plaque organized on the tooth surface. Its progression leads to bone loss and it is the primary cause of edentulism among adults. Over 40% of adults in industrialized countries show clinical signs of periodontal disease, and severe form of disease are described in more than 10% of population. A growing body of evidence has also demonstrated a significant association between systemic inflammation due to periodontal disease and increased risk of systemic comorbidities, including cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.A number of surveys conducted among the Italian population from 2016 to 2020 have found that, although awareness of periodontitis has increased in recent years, the discrepancy between patients with periodontal problems and the actual diagnoses and therapies of this conditions is still high. There is dramatic need of periodontal treatment in the population and very often this disease is not properly diagnosed and/or treated, with aesthetic, functional and psychological problems for patients. Treatment of advanced form of periodontitis very often require complex prosthetic treatment with dental implant application, with significant cost for patients.The present Dossier highlights the current concepts of periodontitis and describes its social impact in the Italian population. Furthermore, the adoption of clinical guidelines focused on evidence based medicine is strongly recommended in order to improve patient safety in diagnosis and treatment of periodontitis and to reduce the socio-economic-health impact of this disease.