Effect of examining half the teeth in a partial periodontal recording of older adults.

Limited evidence to date has suggested that half-mouth examinations can be used in epidemiological surveys for accurate estimation of the prevalence of periodontal conditions. This study investigated the accuracy and efficiency of half-mouth periodontal examinations of mesial and buccal sites by comparing whole-mouth findings from those sites with findings that would have been obtained by examining only two randomly selected quadrants of teeth in three older dentate adult populations: 263 whites in Iowa, 309 whites in North Carolina, and 384 blacks in North Carolina. Mean half-mouth scores for gingival recession, pocket depth, attachment loss, and Extent and Severity Index were almost identical to those of mean whole-mouth scores, with correlations between means exceeding 0.93. However, the proportions of the population having selected levels of moderate or severe periodontal disease in mesial and buccal sites were underestimated by as much as 13%. This study showed that half-mouth examinations can be accurate and efficient in estimating mean periodontal measures, but may underestimate the prevalence of periodontal conditions.