Comparison of A Rapid Diagnostic Test (PerioscanTM) Results and Periodontal Conditions for Factory Workers

The purpose of this study was to compare a rapid diagnostic test (Perioscan™) results with periodontal conditions of the specified tooth surfaces for evaluating this test as a screening method in mass examination in Japanese factory workers. Probing depth, bleeding on probing, and calculus and plaque deposition at buccal and lingual surfaces of maxillary right and mandibular left first molars were assessed and recorded. After clinical examination, sub-gingival plaque was collected from the examined surfaces by a scaler. BANA hydrolysis by a subgingival plaque sample was measured on the BANA card test. The main results are as follows: 1. The percentage of tooth surfaces evaluated as test positive was 73.8%. 2. There was a significant association between the BANA test results and clinical periodontal indicators. However, the specificity is relatively lower than the sensitivity in this test. Thus, there is room for improvement in terms of the low specificity and in development of the sampling technique.