Abstract
BACKGROUND: Since periodontitis prevalence has increased globally and there is a bidirectional relationship between periodontitis and diabetes mellitus (DM), new methods of preventing and screening involving DM biomarkers could impact periodontitis management. We aimed to develop a fuzzy system to estimate the risk of periodontitis in patients with DM. METHODS: Body mass index (BMI), glycemia (G), total cholesterol (C), and triglyceride (T) measurements were collected from 87 patients diagnosed with DM. Oral examinations were performed, and the number of the periodontal pockets (nrPPs) was determined. A fuzzy system was developed: BMI and G as inputs resulted in Periodontitis Risk 1 (PRisk1) output; C and T as inputs resulted in Periodontitis Risk 2 (PRisk2) output. From PRisk1 and PRisk2, the cumulative periodontitis risk (PCRisk) was assessed. Linguistic terms and linguistic grades (very small, small, medium, big, and very big) were assigned to the numerical variables by using 25 different membership functions. PCRisk and nrPP values were statistically processed. RESULTS: In our developed fuzzy system, BMI, G, C, and T as input data resulted in periodontitis risk estimation. PCRisk was correlated with nrPP: when PCRisk increased by 1.881 units, nrPP increased by 1 unit. The fuzzy logic-based system effectively estimated periodontitis risk in type 2 diabetes patients, showing a significant correlation with the number of periodontal pockets. These findings highlight its potential for early diagnosis and improved interdisciplinary care.