Use of risk assessment in attaining and maintaining oral health.

The cost of health care is increasing rapidly. A transition from the "repair" to a "wellness" model of oral health care that minimizes the occurrence of disease and the need for complex treatment may reduce costs and improve oral health. Quantification of risk is essential for successful use of the wellness model. Subjective risk assessment by expert clinicians is too variable to be useful in clinical decision making. However, user-friendly Internet-based technology has been developed that provides a consistently accurate and valid quantified risk assessment for periodontitis, as well as a quantified measure of disease severity and extent. The numeric information helps clinicians and patients make diagnoses and generate individual, needs-based treatment plans. This technology enables successful application of the wellness model of care in day-to-day dental practice. Use of the wellness model may result in more uniform and accurate periodontal clinical decision making, improved oral health, less need for complex periodontal therapy, lower oral health care costs, and improved clinician productivity and income.