[The reliability of different groups of sample teeth in assessing the status of periodontal disease in epidemiological studies].

The possibility of evaluating periodontal disease status in a given population by examining a limited number of sample teeth is of undoubted value in epidemiological studies. To this end, a cross-section study was performed to assess whether the dental sample proposed by Ramfjord effectively reflects the entire dentition status in terms of the main Clinical Indices of Periodontal Disease, in particular pocket depth. In addition, two randomly selected samples of six teeth were also evaluated using the same criteria. On the basis of their findings, the Authors confirm the epidemiological validity of Ramfjord's dental sample and stress that different groups of sample teeth may be efficaciously used to assess the periodontal disease status of the entire dentition in epidemiological studies.