Foreword

Prevention and Treatment of Periodontal Diseases in Primary Care is designed to assist and support primary care dental teams in providing appropriate care for patients both at risk of and with periodontal diseases.

The guidance aims to support the dental team to:

• manage patients with periodontal diseases in primary care appropriately
• improve the quality of decision making for referral to secondary care
• improve the overall health of the population

If the prevention and treatment strategies presented in this guidance are followed by the dental team, patients at risk of developing periodontal diseases can be recognised early and appropriate care (both preventive and treatment-based) can be provided to improve the oral health, and in some cases general health, of the patient population.

The main elements of the SDCEP Prevention and Treatment of Periodontal Diseases in Primary Care guidance are included in this site. This includes supporting tools such as a smoking cessation brief intervention, risk level assessment and Oral Hygiene TIPPS.

For a full appreciation of the recommendations in this site, and further advice on following them, refer to the full guidance available via the SDCEP website.