Applying Updated AAP Periodontal Classifications in Dental Hygiene Programs

Transitioning from the 1999 American Academy of Periodontology (AAP) periodontal classifications to the 2017/2018 AAP periodontal classifications can feel cumbersome and overwhelming at first, but in time, it becomes very easy to manage. The Fresno City College Dental Hygiene (FCC DH) Program has slowly incorporated the new classifications and periodontitis staging and grading by instructing and transitioning faculty since fall 2020. Students are taught the new periodontal classification system along with the older 1999 version as well.

Incorporating Staging and Grading Into a Dental Hygiene Program

Each semester, faculty are given didactic instructional course presentations on the 2017 AAP periodontal classifications and work collegially on clinical applications of the new periodontitis staging and grading by applying it to fictitious clinical case studies. A modified clinical periodontal assessment form developed and adapted for use in the FCC DH Clinic, from the original AAP classification forms. Over time, the form has evolved into an efficient instrument for periodontal assessment for use in the FCC DH Clinic by students and faculty. The periodontal assessment form is used for each new clinical DH patient and is updated yearly by the DH faculty.

In the periodontology course, students are presented didactic instruction on the 2017 periodontal classification system using the fifth edition of the textbook Foundations of Periodontics for the Dental Hygienist by Gehrig, Shin and Willmann. This textbook outlines in detail the new AAP periodontal classifications as well as reviewing the 1999 system. In addition, periodontal didactic instruction is also supplemented by the textbook Clinical Periodontology for the Dental Hygienist by Newman, Carranza, et al.

Preparing for the New Delta Dental 2017 Staging and Grading Mandatory Classification Use

Dental hygiene students learn didactically in periodontology to compare and contrast the 1999 versus the 2017/2018 periodontal classifications. They researched this topic using peer-reviewed journal articles and writing a paper to compare and contrast the two systems, preparing them for questions on the National Dental Hygiene Board Exam. The students also do a case workup on one fictitious periodontitis case to stage and grade. They are transitioned to the stage and grade form to use for clinical periodontitis cases on their patients. Additionally, students are prepared for evaluating old journal articles or old instructional materials on the old or new systems. The students are ready to use the 2017/2018 system on all new patients in the FCC DH Clinic and are prepared for when they become licensed DH providers.

In January 2023, Delta Dental of California made a provision that all D4341 and D4242 scaling, and root planning will need a 2017/2018 periodontitis classification during billing. Further highlighting the timeliness of teaching faculty and students to use the 2017/2018 AAP periodontal classification system for use in the FCC DH Clinics.

Incorporating the new 2017/2018 AAP periodontal classification system into DH programs can be efficiently done knowing that this new system is learned slowly, is ongoing and is done cumulatively. Introduction is first by didactic presentation, case study integration applications and then full clinical ongoing application on dental hygiene patients within dental hygiene clinics. The FCC DH graduates will truly be better prepared for a bright dental hygiene future in their assessments utilizing this strategy.

Courtesy of Mimi Myers, RDH, M.Ed., Dental Hygiene Program Faculty, Fresno City College

Published on April 12, 2023