DEVELOPMENT OF A MULTIVARIABLE PROGNOSTIC MODEL FOR TOOTH SURVIVAL AND ITS IMPLEMENTATION IN A CLINICAL DECISION-SUPPORT MOBILE APPLICATION: A RETROSPECTIVE COHORT STUDY

Aim: tooth prognosis assessment is a key step in treatment planning. However, the integration of multiple clinical and radi- ographic parameters influencing tooth survival can be chal- lenging in daily practice. The aim of this study is to develop a digital application capable of estimating tooth prognosis based on relevant clinical parameters. Methods: a retrospective study was conducted based on the analysis of clinical records of patients treated at Ospedale Maggiore (Trieste). Teeth with complete periodontal records and radiographic documentation and a minimum follow-up of 1 year were included. For each tooth, several prognostic varia- bles were recorded, including furcation involvement, bleeding on probing, bone loss, presence of endodontic lesions or pros- thetic crowns and patient-related factors. The primary out- come was tooth survival or extraction during follow-ups. The collected data were used to develop a prognostic model, which subsequently served as the basis for the design of a prototype digital application. Results: a total of 140 patients were included in the analysis. Several clinical variables showed a significant association with tooth survival. The predictive model derived from the dataset allowed the development of a preliminary algorithm capable of stratifying teeth into different prognostic categories. Conclusions: the proposed model and its implementation in a digital application may represent a useful clinical decision-sup- port tool for the assessment of tooth prognosis, facilitating a more systematic and objective evaluation during treatment planning.