New forms of patient education are needed to increase the periodontal disease awareness of the general public. Patients are more likely to seek professional treatment for periodontal disease when they are aware of its existence. The general practitioner should be encouraged, through the dental literature and continuing education courses, to assume responsibility for the diagnosis and management of the majority of periodontal problems. Increased periodontal awareness by the dentist would be beneficial in three areas: increased periodontal diagnosis and treatment planning would help reduce the number of lawsuits that can result from existing undiagnosed periodontal disease, the number of failures in restorative treatment would be reduced and longevity of existing restorative dentistry increased, and unfilled appointment time in the dentist's schedule could be filled by patients who need periodontal therapy.