Selected Media Coverage and Excerpts:

Jun. 2007, RDH Magazine, "Risk Assessment Tools"
by Tricia Osuna, RDH, BS

"The use of one simple and inexpensive risk assessment program with numerous benefits for clinicians as well as patients is at our fingertips….The [optional Practice Analysis Report] advises the owner on the amount of patients who would benefit from further treatment that you may not be aware of - be it quadrant scalings to locally delivered antimicrobials/antibiotics. Patient compliance and retention is enhanced, and offices attract new patients interested in cutting-edge technology. In addition, the PreViser process informs the patient by providing them with a copy, which satisfies informed consent requirements."

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Mar. 2007, Contemporary Oral Hygiene, "The Case for Risk Assessment"
by Shirley Gutkowski

"Assessing risk can illuminate upcoming health challenges and help guide efforts in a direction that makes the biggest impact in averting the problems….A dental hygienist may be the one to take the lead in developing and implementing a practice philosophy based on RA [Risk Assessment]. The dentist can oversee the results and establish standing protocols that direct the team’s subsequent actions. Using RA as the cornerstone for developing each patient’s treatment plan will move MI [Minimum Intervention] dental hygiene from philosophy to reality."

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Oct. 2006, RDH Magazine, “Blinded By My Sight"
by Patti Digangi

“The standard for oral cancer detection remains the extraoral/intraoral soft tissue exam, yet it is not the first step. The first step is risk assessment, including a thorough review of the health profile. The highest risk factors remain tobacco and alcohol, yet there are many other factors to assess. Though risk assessment sounds like a good idea, there is little consistency to our current application. A simple, easy-to-use, inexpensive risk assessment tool is available through PreViser Corporation - a validated computer-based system for quantifying risk for caries, periodontal disease and oral cancer….What has been the standard to this point is clearly not working well enough. Several options for earlier detection can help change these statistics. Each system can help increase awareness. Early detection modalities are not meant to replace standard screening but to improve its yield."

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Jun. 2006, Contemporary Oral Hygiene, “Minimal Intervention: Oral Cancer Detection and Prevention"

"What is risk? Risk is the likelihood of an event, expressed as a probability. Risk usually describes an undesirable event like disease, pain, and tooth loss. The PreViser Oral Health Information Suite…is an easy-to-use, inexpensive, computer-based system validated by multiple studies...for quantifying risk for caries, periodontal disease, and oral cancer. This system uses gathered data to place individual patients in a risk category....Based on that categorization, the practitioner can make more consistent, objective, and accurate clinical decisions. The categories help practitioners to readily identify risk and help determine when to use more or less aggressive detection and preventive modalities. This can reduce the need for complex therapy. Risk assessment is the heart of MI [Minimal Intervention]"

Nov. 2005, HygieneTown magazine (cover story), "Numbers Don't Lie - a new, innovative way to calculate perio risk"
By Hygiene Town and Roy Page

"Hygienists are excited about this product because it provides a single language to discuss periodontal issues and treatment with the dentist. It will also make discussions with the patients easier. The PreViser tool provides an objective evaluation and therefore patients readily accept the risk number and the disease severity number. People relate to numbers. Knowing their numbers gets them involved. They know their blood pressure; they know their cholesterol. Now they’ll know their periodontal disease scores and look for improvement in the numbers. They’ll know whether they’re on the right or wrong path depending on how the numbers change over time....PreViser is making hygienist’s dreams come true. "

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Oct. 2005, Dimensions of Dental Hygiene, "The Digital Dental Office"
by Su-yan L. Barrow, RDH, MA, MPH

"The assessment of risk in the prevention and management of periodontitis is complex....The PreViser Risk Calculator creates a risk score for each patient based on an analysis of key risk factors and current health. A risk analysis report is given to each patient with a risk score, disease score, trend graph, and guided treatment selection. The report also provides patients with the characteristics of health and an analysis of their oral health status characteristics.

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June 2005, RDH magazine, "Wild, Wild West: Risk assessment strategies minimize the feeling that it's a lawless, anything-goes environment out there in the untamed lands of dental diagnosis"
by Patti DiGangi

"PreViser Corporation, founded by clinicians, has developed what may be the first usable, objective, and clinically validated technology for accurately assessing disease risk. The tool is easy to use, inexpensive, and provides an effective picture to the client and clinician of current and probable future disease status....PreViser’s tool is a good starting point for incorporating risk analysis into the practice of dentistry."

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May 2005, Dental Practice Report (cover story), "A new approach to perio diagnosis: A new tool offers a computerized, evidence-based approach to calculating perio risk"
by Daniel McCann

"Until a year ago, Thomas Schoen, D.D.S., of Wabasha, Minn., was used to going it alone when it came to diagnosing his patients' periodontal problems...Then last summer, Dr. Schoen learned about [PreViser]...'Patient acceptance has been significantly higher [with the PRC],' Dr. Schoen reports. 'More people are getting the recommended scaling and root planing, so my hygiene schedule, which used to have holes in it, is very full right now. The patients have a number to hang on to, and that's like a second opinion. Compliance is way up, too, and that's making my patients healthier, which helps me want to go to work.'"

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May 2005, Journal of Dental Education, 69(5):509-20, "The Oral Health Information Suite (OHIS): Its Use in the Management of Periodontal Disease"
by Roy C. Page, D.D.S., Ph.D.; John A. Martin, D.D.S.; Carl F. Loeb, B.A.

"OHIS enables successful application of the wellness model of oral health care, which may be expected to result in more uniform and accurate clinical decision making, improved oral health, reduction in the need for complex periodontal therapy, reduction in oral health care costs, and improved clinician productivity and income. It also will permit patients to become more involved in their oral health care, payers to quantify and predict their health care expenditures, dentists to experience an increase in trust and respect, and periodontists to be more properly consulted regarding periodontal care."

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May-June 2005, ADHA Access, "Non-Surgical Periodontal Therapy Then and Now: Changes from the 80's"
by Lynne Hollister Slim, RDH, BSDH, MSDH, and Colleen Rutledge, RDH

"Because technology and equipment change and become outdated so rapidly, clinicians must adapt quickly and be prepared to learn new skills to be able to compete effectively....Practice emphasis in the 21st century is on state-of-the-art technology that can be applied to every aspect of nonsurgical periodontal therapy....A new risk assessment tool called the Previser Oral Health Information Suite includes a Web-based Periodontal Risk Calculator...Clinicians print one copy of the risk score for the chart, and present another to the client along with detailed information about the score's significance."

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Mar. 2005, AGD Impact, Vol. 33, No. 3, "Products Review"


"What's hot and what's getting hotter...If undiagnosed hypertension is a "silent killer" of humans, then undiagnosed periodontal disease may be the "silent killer" of teeth. Now there is a simple way to use software to predict a patient's risk of periodontal disease, and even the possibility of decay. This provides advantages to both the practitioner and patient, "heading off" periodontal disease in those high-risk patients; quite possibly even before the more common symptoms become visible. Undoubtedly, early detection will better enable us to help patients take the necessary steps to improve their own oral health. Questions regarding treatment planning are addressed and suggestions based on evidence-based therapy are offered for viable treatment solutions..."

Jan. 2005, Dimensions of Dental Hygiene,"Beyond the Probe"
by Nadine Brodala, DDS, MS, DR MED DENT

"The use of PRC [PreViser's Periodontal Risk Calculator] in the practice setting and suggested treatment options over time could lead to more uniform decision-making about periodontitis. If long-term studies support the promising initial results of PRC’s accuracy, this tool could have positive influence on the reduction in disease incidence, improved oral health, reduction in extensive treatment needs, and reduction in cost of care."

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Nov. 2004, Dental Economics,"Mission Impossible"
by Lynne H. Slim, RDH, BSDH, MSDH

"What does a comprehensive clinical assessment include?...A new diagnostic tool called the PreViser Risk Calculator is an affordable periodontal disease risk indicator that can be added to your diagnostic armamentarium. The PreViser Risk Calculator creates an easy-to-use risk analysis report for individual clients that can be sent home with clients along with a computer-generated periodontal chart."

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Oct. 2004, The Preventive Angle, Vol. 3, Issue 4,"Remineralization, Protection, and the Caries Experience"
by Margaret J. Fehrenbach, RDH, MS

"There is an important shift in the strategy concerning caries control because we now have the ability to promote remineralization and protection of the tooth surface. Today the emphasis is on a prevention model, moving away from a repair model....The first key to preventing caries in our patients is to perform a caries risk assessment on each of our patients..."

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Sept/Oct 2004, The International Journal of Periodontics & Restorative Dentistry, Vol. 24, Issue 5, "From Repair to Prevention: The Wellness Model of Care"
by John A. Martin, DDS

"Preliminary evidence from a retrospective analysis of patients in whom OHIS [the Oral Health Information Suite] was used to categorize them by disease state, risk status, treatment, and tooth loss indicates that tooth loss can be reduced by more than 50% when the tool set is used proactively. It appears that treatment today can be based on accurate, objective, and valid assessment of risk; when this information is used to guide accurate clinical decision making, oral health, clinician productivity, and income will improve, and oral health costs and need for complex therapy will be reduced."

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Sept. 2004, The Compendium, Vol. 25, No. 9, CE X: "Use of Risk Assessment in Attaining and Maintaining Oral Health"

"Quantification of risk is essential for successful use of the wellness model....The numeric information helps clinicians and patients make diagnoses and generate individual, needs-based treatment plans. This technology enables successful application of the wellness model of care in day-to-day dental practice. Use of the wellness model may result in more uniform and accurate periodontal clinical decision making, improved oral health, less need for complex periodontal therapy, lower oral health care costs, and improved clinician productivity and income."


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Sept. 2004, The Colgate Oral Care Report, Vol. 14, Issue 2, "Periodontal Page - A Risk Calculator for Periodontal Disease"and "Health Care Trends - Toward Evidence-Based Periodontal Therapy"

"Page and co-workers have created the Periodontal Risk Calculator (PRC), which uses a computer program to integrate information gathered during a routine oral examination to estimate a patient's risk of developing periodontal disease. The program requires the following patient information: age, smoking history, diabetes diagnosis, history of periodontal surgery, pocket depths, bleeding on probing, restorations below the gingival margin, root calculus, radiographic bone height, furcation involvements, and vertical bone lesions. An increased periodontal risk score at baseline correlated strongly with increased periodontal disease at years 3, 9 and 15. PRC risk scores are accurate predictors of future periodontal deterioration."

"Because the PRC has made such a great contribution to evidence-based dentistry, dentists and dental hygienists should become familiar with it and use it routinely. We now have a science-based method for holding back advanced treatment from certain patients, and for strongly recommending surgical and other advanced care for others who are equivocal. The PRC has established a higher standard of practice for the management of periodontal disease."


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May 2004, RDH magazine, "The velvet touch"
by Ann-Marie C. DePalma

"Another course Margaret presents is a new risk assessment seminar on oral disease (oral cancer, periodontal disease and caries). This program becomes more important as dental professionals learn more about the medical/dental paradigm and evidenced based practice in dentistry. Because she feels the topic is so important, she would like to present it to every state dental hygiene meeting in the future, as well as at dental educational sites."

"She presented a portion of it at the Yankee Dental Congress this year and received positive feedback. Legally, as well as ethically, hygienists need to determine their patient's risk of oral disease and individualize their treatment plans accordingly. The seminar discusses the user-friendly risk calculators utilizing the latest Internet technology."

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Feb. 2004, Medill News Service on the Web, "New dental laser techonolgy help ease patient fears"

"Boghosian said dentists have to stay on the cutting edge of technology to insure the health of their patients. 'Its like detecting cancer earlier,' she said. 'It is easier to treat it when it is small.' One product promises to predict periodontal disease and tooth loss in patients up to 15 years in advance....The Previser Corporation produces software that takes measurements and calculates a patient's risk of losing their teeth."

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Jan. 2004, Hong Kong Dental Journal, 1:5-12, "The Future for Clinical Dentistry"
by CE Renson, BDS, PhD, FFGDP(UK), DDPH, LDS RCS, FICD

"The authors’ observations suggest that use of risk scores generated for individual patients by subjective expert clinician opinion could result in inappropriate treatment for some patients and they support the use of an objective tool such as PRC. Dental practitioners will need the skills to access databases electronically to keep updated and to ensure that their treatments are evidence-based."

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July 8, 2003, Press.world.com, "New technology will save billions in dental costs"

"The internet age has come to dentistry and healthcare. A patented, scientifically validated, breakthrough program for dentists can save you money, time and protect your teeth, gums and general health. Millions of patients undergo elaborate and expensive treatment that could have been managed with minor intervention….Dentistry operates in a repair model but the technology and knowledge base is available to deliver more effective, interceptive care in a ‘wellness’ model."



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Jan. 15, 2003, Health News, "Area periodontist develops new concept in preventive medicine"
By Suzanna Mahler

"Dr. Randy Nolf, a periodontist with offices in Lehighton and Stroudsburg, has developed a potentially profession changing concept in preventive medicine that can predict tooth problems before they occur."…

"Some people may need more treatment than others. ‘Severity of the disease doesn't mean all people must be treated aggressively,’ he said. ‘The risk calculator allows us to be precise about this.'" …

"He said procrastination is something which dentists must caution their patients to guard against. ‘Patients say, “I'll wait till it happens, then I'll deal with it,” Dr. Nolf said.’ As a specialist in the area of preventive medicine, Dr. Nolf offers some better advice which can save a person money and grief in the long run: 'Let's manage this thing before it gets to be such a big deal.'"

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Oct. 2003, Washington Dental Service website, Oral Health Research news
by Susan Koomar

"Validation Study of Risk Assessment Tools — A number of tools are being developed to determine a patient's risk for gum disease and cavities. These tools can tell whether patients are at risk of developing new disease, or at risk of getting worse....[Washington Dental Service has] asked a panel of experts to evaluate the Risk Calculator....A valid risk assessment tool will help dentists provide patients with the treatment they need in a more timely fashion."

Dec. 1, 2002, Pocono Record, "Stroudsburg periodontist helps create software to help patients keep their teeth"

"Dr. Randy Nolf wants to save your teeth. Saving teeth means saving money for you, your employer and insurance company. Nolf, a periodontist, is on a crusade to change dentistry from an industry focused on fixing problems to preventing them. His passion for preventive medicine led to an invention that could be coming to a dentist's office near you — possibly saving billions of dollars in treatments and health insurance claims. ...It took about five years for Nolf and a team of nine other periodontists to develop the risk calculator....We need to pick out the (patients) who are on a high-speed run to tooth loss."

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Sept./Oct. 2002, Contemporary Oral Hygiene, "Hygiene Solutions" discussion

"The need for radiograph should be based not only on immediate need but risk as well. Using risk calculation for periodontal disease (see article on periodontal risk calculator that I use in my seminars and discussed by my grad prof Dr. Roy Page, et al, in a recent JADA), as well as caries risk (from my seminars and the text Cariology by Newbrun), then you can make recommendations if the patient should undergo radiographic procedures."

"And the supervising dentist at the end of the day wondered out loud about it, how was he missing this decay even though patients were coming in regularly for examination. I told him quietly about risk assessment. Now he takes them based on immediate need and then risk of disease, using the guidelines as a baseline (the guidelines endorsed by the ADA and published by the U.S. Department of HHS..."

May 13, 2002, Smile-on.com (Site for healthcare professionals in the UK), "Predicting Periodontitis"

"An article in the latest Journal of the American Dental Association has proven that the use of a computer-based periodontal risk assessment tool can provide dentists with accurate treatment options for minimising disease risk as well as for repairing existing damage and improving overall oral health."

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Please see other published worksreferenced on our Research page.