[A PhD completed. Periodontitis, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease: a Bermuda triangle]. / Serie: Hora est. Parodontitis, diabetes mellitus, hart- en vaatziekten: een Bermudadriehoek.

The relationship among periodontitis, diabetes mellitus and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease is complex and can be thought of as a Bermuda triangle. A relationship has been demonstrated between periodontitis, a worsening in the condition of the vascular system and an increased total level of inflammatory markers. Patients with severe periodontitis also show raised levels of glycosylated haemoglobin. This means that severe periodontitis can be an early indication of diabetes mellitus. Periodontal treatment generally promotes improved blood sugar regulation in diabetes patients, an improved condition of the vascular system and a decrease in the total levels of inflammation. Factors such as genetics, lifestyle and the presence of other chronic co-morbidities contribute to the complexity of this relationship. For the treatment of severe periodontitis, interdisciplinary cooperation among dentists, general practitioners and internists is therefore recommended.

Arterial stiffness in periodontitis patients and controls. A case­control and pilot intervention study.

Increased arterial stiffness (AS) is an important indicator for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ACVD). Epidemiologically, periodontitis and ACVD are associated. Therefore, we aimed to investigate AS in periodontitis patients and controls. In addition, we explored the effect of periodontal therapy on AS in a sub-group of cases. Pulse-wave velocity (PWV), a non-invasive chair-side function test for AS, was measured in periodontitis patients (n=57; mean age 46.6 years) and compared with a reference group (n=48; mean age 45.5 years). In addition, 45 cases (mean age 46.9 years) were 6 months followed after periodontal treatment, to explore a possible effect on arterial function. Periodontitis patients showed a significantly increased PWV compared with the reference group (8.01±0.20 vs. 7.36±0.22 m s(-1) respectively; P=0.029) and this remained significant after adjustments for ACVD risk factors (P=0.019). After periodontal therapy, no significant reduction in PWV was seen (8.00±1.8 to 7.82±1.6 m s(-1); P=0.13), but systolic blood pressure (SBP) was significantly reduced (119.8±14.6 to 116.9±15.1 mm Hg; P=0.040). It can be concluded that periodontitis is associated with increased AS. This confirms with a new parameter the association of periodontitis with ACVD. Although periodontal treatment did not lower AS significantly, a modest reduction of SBP after 6 months was observed.

[Treatment of periodontitis in cases of diabetes mellitus is always worthwhile!]. / Behandeling van parodontitis bij diabetes mellitus heeft altijd zin!

In the May edition of The Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Tandheelkunde the editorial commentary was devoted to the question to what extent the treatment of periodontitis in patients with diabetes mellitus is worthwhile. B.G. Loos, W.J. Teeuw, V. Gerdes and F. Abbas offer a response to this commentary and argue that the treatment of periodontitis in patients with diabetes mellitus is always worthwhile.

[Periodontal disease and quality of life]. / Parodontitis en levenskwaliteit.

In order to gain insight into the degree to which periodontal disease is related to quality of life, research was carried out among 85 patients with moderate or severe periodontal disease in which they were asked to complete the Oral Health Impact Profile-NL49. Their scores on this questionnaire were compared with the scores of 85 control subjects of comparable age and gender. The patients with periodontal disease demonstrated significantly worse scores compared to the control group and patients with severe periodontal disease had scores which were statistically significantly worse than patients with moderate periodontal disease. The results of this study suggest a causal negative association of periodontal disease with quality of life.

Validation of a dental image analyzer tool to measure alveolar bone loss in periodontitis patients.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Radiographs are an essential adjunct to the clinical examination for periodontal diagnoses. Over the past few years, digital radiographs have become available for use in clinical practice. Therefore, the present study investigated whether measuring alveolar bone loss, using digital radiographs with a newly constructed dental image analyzer tool was comparable to the conventional method, using intra-oral radiographs on film, a light box and a Schei ruler. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Alveolar bone loss of the mesial and distal sites of 60 randomly selected teeth from 12 patients with periodontitis was measured using the conventional method, and then using the dental image analyzer tool, by five dentists. The conventional method scored bone loss in categories of 10% increments relative to the total root length, whereas the software dental image analyzer tool calculated bone loss in 0.1% increments relative to the total root length after crucial landmarks were identified. RESULTS: Both methods showed a high interobserver reliability for bone loss measurements in nonmolar and molar sites (intraclass correlation coefficient > or = 0.88). Also, a high reliability between both methods was demonstrated (intraclass correlation coefficient nonmolar sites, 0.98; intraclass correlation coefficient molar sites, 0.95). In addition, the new dental image analyzer tool showed a high sensitivity (1.00) and a high specificity (0.91) in selecting teeth with > or = 50% or < 50% alveolar bone loss in comparison with the conventional method. CONCLUSION: This study provides evidence that, if digital radiographs are available, the dental image analyzer tool can reliably replace the conventional method for measuring alveolar bone loss in periodontitis patients.