Dr. Fariya Ashraf presented on advanced microbiological diagnostic aids for periodontal diseases. Various methods were discussed including bacterial culturing, direct microscopy, immunodiagnostic methods like ELISA, enzymatic methods like the BANA test, and new molecular technologies like DNA probes and PCR. Each method has advantages and limitations for identifying putative periodontal pathogens and monitoring periodontal disease and treatment. Molecular methods now allow rapid identification of multiple bacterial species from a single sample and have greater sensitivity than traditional culturing techniques.