In other words, the dentist can treat dental diseases and conditions that he or she feels qualified to treat. Patients present to dentists with a spectrum of conditions and diseases, some less common or more complex than others. The profession of Dentistry has historically responded by developing specialty programs to train dentist to meet the needs of these patients; Periodontics is one of the dental specialties. In the early twentieth century Periodontics began as a specialty that treated periodontitis or gum disease.