Billings M, et al. - Using epidemiologic data of clinical periodontal status from two population-based samples in two countries, United States and Germany, researchers determined the impact of age on the relative contribution of recession and pocketing on the distribution of clinical attachment loss. In addition, they assessed if it is feasible to define age-dependent thresholds for severe periodontitis. Researchers noted common patterns of clinical attachment loss (CAL) and of the relative contribution of recession (R) and pocket depth (PD) to CAL with increasing age, despite the substantial differences noted in the overall severity of attachment loss between the two samples. Empirical evidence-driven definitions of CAL thresholds signifying disproportionate severity of periodontitis by age seemed feasible despite variation in periodontitis severity in different populations.