A chronological classification of periodontal disease: a review.

The subject of classification may be considered to be dull by some people, even contentious by others, but it does afford us a means to an end. The evolution of the history allows us to see how our predecessors thought and how periodontal disease has extended itself as an important entity into many aspects of the medical field. A good classification system allows us to understand the complexity of the disease that we are attempting to treat. This is a subject that Drs. I Glickman, I Weinmann, B Orban and the 1987 and 1999 American Academy of Periodontology have tried to teach. This paper presents a review of both historical and modern classification systems for periodontal disease.