Critical Issues In Periodontal Research

Periodontal disease has plagued mankind since his first appearance on the earth. Bone lesions typical of periodontitis in fossils from the Paleolithic culture of Neanderthal man. Periodontitis appears to have been one of the most common diseases of the Egyptians more than 4000 years ago. Periodontal diseases prevalent both in developed and developing countries and affects about 20-50% of global population. High prevalence of periodontal disease in adolescents, adults, and older individuals makes it a public health concern. Periodontal diseases have been studied aggressively for several decades and enormous advancement has been carried out. In the decade of 1990¿s there has been one development that overshadows all other. Basic research and clinical research in periodontology have been converged resulting in logarithmic increase in the rate of progress. Since its beginning investigation of periodontal disease has developed along two related but separate pathway.