Changing Strategies for Periodontal Diagnosis, Prognosis, and Therapy

Tuesday Session, 10:15–11:45 a.m.
Program Track: Treatment of Inflammatory Periodontal Diseases

Moderator: Christopher W. Cutler
Speakers: Steven Offenbacher and Thomas E. Van Dyke

Pioneers in the field of periodontal research will discuss the latest breakthroughs in periodontal diagnosis, prognosis, and immunotherapy. This course will briefly summarize how new advances in biomarker research and the genetics of periodontal disease have impacted the field of periodontology. Emphasis will be placed on describing new categories of disease that are based upon clinical assessments that improve the ability to predict periodontal disease progression and tooth loss. We will present tooth-specific outcomes that are validated in large prospective studies. Examples will be presented to explain how understanding the genetic basis of disease will enable precision periodontology and optimized therapies in the near future. This will be followed by discussion of inflammation and its resolution using targeted immunotherapeutic approaches.

Educational Objectives:
• Grasp the impact of genetics and the dysbiotic microbial community structure on disease expression.
• Provide new insight into disease classifications and measures of treatment outcomes using traditional clinical measures of disease.
• Apply an integrative perspective on how advanced diagnostics will enable us to provide personalized and optimized periodontal care for our patients.
• Develop a working understanding of natural regulation of inflammation.
• Address the “chicken and egg” question in periodontal disease: what is the relationship of the bacteria to inflammation and progression of disease?