Referring to periodontics

All referrals for your periodontist must include all of the following:

  • An accurately recorded six-point pocket chart.
  • A plaque distribution chart and plaque score.
  • Diagnostic radiographs of the affected sites clearly demonstrating periodontal bone levels (originals or print-outs of diagnostic quality).

Failure to include any part of the above in the referral will lead to rejection and delay in your patients care.

Acceptance criteria

Those patients likely to be accepted for consultation are patients with:

  • Aggressive or severe chronic periodontitis, with pockets of >6 mm (BPE 4) with an excellent level of plaque control (plaque scores <20%) who have failed to respond to a full course of root surface debridement with local anaesthesia.
  • Acute problems e.g. desquamative gingivitis, necrotising periodontal disease.
  • Drug induced gingival conditions and localised gingival swelling (e.g. epulis).
  • Localised significant root exposure in an otherwise periodontally stable patient.

Patients will not be accepted for specialist periodontal treatment if:

  • The patients oral hygiene is poor/inadequate oral hygiene.
  • There are obvious/gross gingival deposits.
  • The patient has untreated primary disease, e.g. caries, retained roots.

It is a requirement that you will need to continue to see your patient for routine examinations and treatment (including emergency treatment) and continue to provide all other aspects of your patient's dental care including any recommendations made from the hospital specialists. For example, if the patient requires any extractions, restorations and or prostheses, it is expected that you will continue to provide these treatments in a timely manner.

To refer to this service please complete the restorative dentistry referral form [docx] 36KB and send it to the periodontics team.