The association between periodontitis patients’ chief complaints and the stage of periodontitis: A clinical retrospective study

Objectives: The purposes of this retrospective study were to investigate the prevalence of various periodontal chief complaints (pCCs) of patients, diagnosed with periodontitis, as well as to identify the association between pCCs and periodontal parameters or periodontitis staging according to AAP/EFP 2017 classification. Materials and methods: Five hundred eighty-nine patients, applied to the clinic with pCCs, were screened. The demographic characteristics, smoking status, brushing behaviors, history of periodontal therapy, medical data, and periodontal parameters were obtained. A multinomial logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the most common pCCs and co-variables among the indicators of Stage III and IV periodontitis. Results: In Stage IV periodontitis, patients with pCC of mobility were observed the most (26.8%), and pCC of halitosis were the least (7.3%). Among all pCCs of patients, those with the pCC of gingival enlargement and tooth mobility had the highest percentage of sites with PPD ≥ 4 mm and CAL ≥ 5 mm, respectively (p <.001). According to regression analysis, those with pCC of gingival bleeding, recession and mobility were more likely to be in Stage IV than those in Stage I/II. Conclusion: Among pCCs, only patients with pCCs of mobility, gingival recession and bleeding are related to periodontitis staging. Moreover, the extent of periodontal pockets in patients with pCC of gingival enlargement, and the extent of attachment loss in patients with pCC of mobility are greater than other patients. Clinical relevance: New machine-learning technology models can be developed with the aim of classifying the patients based on their chief complaints, to support diagnosing the severity of periodontal diseases.