Periodontal disease can be considered a silent pandemic, especially in a developing country like India. Statistics present the grim reality that 95% of the population in India suffers from periodontal disease. Adding to the complexity of the situation, the dentist-to-population ratio in the rural areas is dismally low with less than 2% of dentists being available for 72% of the rural population. These facts emphasize the need for early identification and treatment of periodontal diseases. The first step towards this distant goal is to quantify the disease burden both at the patient and...