# Periodontal Indices > Periodontal indices for BDS Periodontics — Loe and Silness Gingival Index, OHI-S, Russell PI, Ramfjord PDI, CPITN codes and scoring details. - Canonical URL: https://prepelephant.com/topics/bds/periodontics/periodontal-indices-bds - Exam / course: BDS · Subject: Periodontics - Publisher: PrepElephant (https://prepelephant.com) — Prepared and reviewed by the PrepElephant Academic Review Team - First published: 2026-10-02 - Last updated: 2026-10-02 - How to cite: "Periodontal Indices", PrepElephant, https://prepelephant.com/topics/bds/periodontics/periodontal-indices-bds ## Direct answer Indices convert gingival inflammation, plaque, calculus and destruction into reproducible numbers comparable across visits, patients and populations. The BDS list is short and non-negotiable: the Gingival Index of Loe and Silness (0-3, where bleeding on probing separates score 2 from score 1), the Plaque Index of Silness and Loe (0-3, scored after running a probe along the gingival third), the Oral Hygiene Index-Simplified of Green and Vermillion (debris plus calculus on six selected surfaces, 0-6), Russell's Periodontal Index (weighted scores 0 to 8), Ramfjord's Periodontal Disease Index on six named teeth, and the WHO's CPITN or CPI recorded with the banded probe. Each index answers a different question — plaque control, gingival health or population treatment needs. ## What you must remember - **Gingival Index (Loe and Silness, 1963):** 0 normal; 1 mild inflammation, no bleeding on probing; 2 moderate inflammation with bleeding on probing; 3 severe inflammation with tendency to spontaneous bleeding; scored on four surfaces per tooth. - **Plaque Index (Silness and Loe, 1964):** 0 no plaque; 1 film detectable only by running a probe across the cervical third; 2 moderate visible plaque; 3 abundant plaque — the probe, not the eye, defines score 1. - **OHI-S (Green and Vermillion, 1964):** debris index plus calculus index, each 0-3, on the buccal of 16 and 26, labial of 11 and 31, and lingual of 36 and 46; total 0-6, with 0-1.2 good, 1.3-3.0 fair and 3.1-6.0 poor. - **Russell's Periodontal Index:** weighted per-tooth scores 0, 1, 2, 6 and 8, with pocket formation weighted 6 and advanced destruction 8; averages of 0.1-1.0 indicate gingivitis, 1.5-2.5 beginning periodontal disease, 3.0-5.0 established and 6.0-8.0 advanced disease. - **Ramfjord PDI teeth:** 16, 21, 24, 36, 41 and 44 — maxillary right first molar, left central incisor, left first premolar, mandibular left first molar, right central incisor and right first premolar; gingival scores 0-3 escalate to 4-6 as attachment loss progresses along the root. - **CPITN or CPI codes:** 0 healthy, 1 bleeding after probing, 2 calculus felt, 3 pocket 4-5 mm (band partly visible), 4 pocket 6 mm or more (band fully disappears); adult index teeth 17, 16, 11, 26, 27 and 47, 46, 31, 36, 37, each sextant recording only its worst code. - **Treatment needs follow CPITN:** code 0 needs nothing, codes 1-2 oral hygiene instruction and cleaning, codes 3-4 complex therapy — the index's original purpose. ## Choosing an index for the task Match the instrument to the question. For a patient returning after Phase I therapy, use the Gingival Index and Plaque Index on the same teeth each visit, because sensitivity to change demonstrates that your scaling and motivation worked; quote bleeding percentages too, the currency clinicians think in. For a community survey — the setting CPITN was designed for — record the banded WHO probe codes on the ten index teeth, mark each sextant's worst code, and convert codes into treatment needs; loss of attachment, recorded separately in millimetre bands, refines it. For a quick audit, the OHI-S on six surfaces takes minutes and its good-fair-poor bands communicate instantly. Where a department demands a research-style destruction score, Russell's PI or Ramfjord's PDI is the defensible choice. The skill examined is matching: choosing the Sulcus Bleeding Index for a plaque-control study or CPITN for an individual surgical plan is the error that costs marks in the community dentistry viva as well as periodontics. ## Viva favourites from the index list First, the Gingival Index score 2 — "moderate inflammation with bleeding on probing" — is asked because students blur it with score 1, where there is colour change and oedema but no bleeding. Second, the OHI-S teeth and surfaces: examiners pick a tooth such as 46 and expect "lingual surface" without hesitation, and the interpretation bands (good to 1.2, fair to 3.0, poor beyond) as exact numbers. Third, why CPITN records only the worst score per sextant and what the black band does — partial visibility versus disappearance separates codes 3 and 4. A graceful extra: Russell weights pocket formation as 6 because it encodes destruction, not mere inflammation, into a single digit. ## Frequently asked questions ### What distinguishes Gingival Index scores 1 and 2? Score 1 is mild inflammation with slight colour change and oedema but no bleeding on probing, while score 2 is moderate inflammation with glazing, redness and bleeding on probing. ### Which teeth and surfaces are scored in OHI-S? The buccal surfaces of 16 and 26, the labial surfaces of 11 and 31, and the lingual surfaces of 36 and 46 — six surfaces scored separately for debris and calculus. ### What are the weighted scores in Russell's Periodontal Index? Zero health, 1 mild gingivitis, 2 a clear circumferential gingivitis zone, 6 pocket formation, 8 advanced destruction with a loose, non-functional tooth; averaged over teeth examined. ### What does CPITN code 3 mean and how is it detected? A pocket of 4-5 mm, detected when the 3.5-5.5 mm black band on the WHO probe remains partly visible at the pocket base. ### Which six teeth does Ramfjord's Periodontal Disease Index use? Teeth 16, 21, 24, 36, 41 and 44, representing each quadrant and segment, scored for gingival condition and attachment level.