How I think about risk factors changed my attitude towards dentistry. Knowing patient risks are not my fault lowered my stress and improved my love of what I do. Now, when I go through a patient's mouth, I look for periodontal risk, decay risk, functional risk, aesthetic risk, physiological risk, etc. We'll cover all these risk factors in the next few podcasts, but let's look at periodontal risk today.

I often ask people at seminars this question: When a patient walks in with 6mm pockets, calculus and tartar, and stain built up are they high risk or low risk? Now wait…before you say "high" what if I told you they were 70-years-old and had never been to the dentist. With proper care, their risk of perio may go way down by the time their next appointment comes around. Let's look at all their risk assessment before judging. Personally, the toughest patients I see are the ones in their 20s and 30s who come in every three months and are still at risk for perio disease. So, let's dive into more details about periodontal risk in patients.