ABSTRACT
Aggressive periodontitis is a rare, severe and rapidly progressing periodontal disease. Early diagnosis is of utmost importance for establishing treatment in order to stop periodontal destruction and prevent tooth loss. The aim of this study is to describe the occurrence of aggressive periodontitis in patients at a Dental School in Brazil by means of a cross-sectional study. First, records from patients aged 15-36 years were consecutively scrutinized. Patients should not have systemic diseases. The search went up to 383 valid records. By means of periapical radiographs, the distance between the cement-enamel junction and the bone crest was measured. Records in which there was severe bone loss or periodontal destruction incompatible with the age of the patient were selected. Patients with bone loss > or = 3mm were called to answer a questionnaire and undergo periodontal examination, in order to confirm or dismiss the diagnosis of aggressive periodontitis. From a total 383 records, 55.1% (211) were female and 44.9% (172) were male. In 3.9% (15) of the records, presumed diagnosis was aggressive periodontitis, and 12 out of those 15 eligible patients (80%) came in for clinical examination and confirmation or dismissal of the diagnosis. Aggressive periodontitis was diagnosed in 7 patients, corresponding to 1.8% of the total. Of these, 4 (1% of the total) presented generalized aggressive periodontitis and 3 (0.8% of the total) presented localized aggressive periodontitis. In 5 patients (1.3%) chronic periodontitis was diagnosed. It may be concluded, within the limits of the study, that aggressive periodontitis at this Dental School is compatible with world prevalence values, suggesting the need for periodontal diagnosis as from adolescence, considering the possible damage caused by this disease.
Subject(s)
Aggressive Periodontitis/epidemiology , Adolescent , Adult , Brazil , Cross-Sectional Studies , Female , Humans , Male , Schools, Dental , Young AdultABSTRACT
Aggressive periodontitis is a rare, severe and rapidly progressing periodontal disease. Early diagnosis is of utmost importance for establishing treatment in order to stop periodontal destruction and prevent tooth loss. The aim of this study is to describe the occurrence of aggressive periodontitis in patients at a Dental School in Brazil by means of a cross-sectional study. First, records from patients aged 15-36 years were consecutively scrutinized. Patients should not have systemic diseases. The search went up to 383 valid records. By means of periapical radiographs, the distance between the cement-enamel junction and the bone crest was measured. Records in which there was severe bone loss or periodontal destruction incompatible with the age of the patient were selected. Patients with bone loss > or = 3mm were called to answer a questionnaire and undergo periodontal examination, in order to confirm or dismiss the diagnosis of aggressive periodontitis. From a total 383 records, 55.1
(211) were female and 44.9
(172) were male. In 3.9
(15) of the records, presumed diagnosis was aggressive periodontitis, and 12 out of those 15 eligible patients (80
) came in for clinical examination and confirmation or dismissal of the diagnosis. Aggressive periodontitis was diagnosed in 7 patients, corresponding to 1.8
of the total. Of these, 4 (1
of the total) presented generalized aggressive periodontitis and 3 (0.8
of the total) presented localized aggressive periodontitis. In 5 patients (1.3
) chronic periodontitis was diagnosed. It may be concluded, within the limits of the study, that aggressive periodontitis at this Dental School is compatible with world prevalence values, suggesting the need for periodontal diagnosis as from adolescence, considering the possible damage caused by this disease.
Subject(s)
Aggressive Periodontitis/epidemiology , Adolescent , Adult , Brazil , Cross-Sectional Studies , Female , Humans , Male , Schools, Dental , Young AdultABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: To assess, in vivo, the influence of periodontal attachment loss and gingival recession on responses to pulp sensibility tests (PSTs) with cold stimuli in mandibular incisors in adult patients. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 45 patients aged 30 to 60 years treated at a university dental health service. In each patient, 1 mandibular incisor was randomly selected for analysis. One calibrated dentist performed all periodontal assessments. Periodontal attachment loss and gingival recession were measured at 6 sites of the selected tooth followed by application of the PST on the buccal surface of the tooth by an independent operator. Each patient was asked to indicate a score for pain intensity on a numeric visual analog scale. The Pearson correlation coefficient was used to investigate and quantify the correlation between predictor variables (periodontal attachment loss and gingival recession) and reported pain. Simple and multiple linear regression analyses were performed to determine the impact of periodontal attachment loss and gingival recession on PST pain scores. RESULTS: Multivariate analysis showed that periodontal attachment loss contributed significantly to the prediction of pain in response to the PST (P < .001). Increases of 1 mm in periodontal attachment loss resulted in a decrease of approximately 0.5 score on the pain scale. Gingival recession also contributed as a predictor of the outcome (P < .001) with a decrease of approximately 0.7 in pain scores for every 1-mm increase in gingival recession. The correlations were in the opposite direction than expected. CONCLUSIONS: Periodontal attachment loss and gingival recession strongly influenced reported pain in response to PST with cold stimuli. The effect of both variables was constant (ie, responses to PST decreased gradually with increases in periodontal attachment loss and gingival recession).
