The limited value of three pathogen species in predicting healing of periodontal pockets.

Baseline level of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans has been suggested as being predictive of periodontal treatment outcome. We analyzed the presence of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Porphyromonas gingivalis, and Prevotella intermedia in 55 deep periodontal pockets of 29 patients (18 men, 11 women, 37-75 years) before and after periodontal treatment. At baseline and after treatment, 62% and 33%, respectively, of the subjects presented with 1, 2, or a combination of all 3 pathogens. The mean pocket depth of 6.6 mm (0.4 mm) before treatment decreased to 2.2 mm (0.4 mm) in response to treatment (P<0.001). The treatment plan of non-surgical or surgical treatment was based on pocket depths and tooth morphology only. No antimicrobial medications were used during the treatment. Eighty-two percent of the deep pockets healed satisfactorily to < or = 4 mm. The presence of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Porphyromonas gingivalis, or Prevotella intermedia at baseline was not associated with the outcome of the periodontal therapy. In conclusion, we found that the presence of the 3 periodontopathogen species had little or no value in predicting healing of periodontal pockets.

Trace and heavy metal analyses of a skeletal population representing the town people in Turku (Abo), Finland in the 16th-17th centuries: with special reference to gender, age and social background.

The Julin site in the city of Turku, Finland, was excavated in 1964, 1983-1985 and 1987. On this site are the remains of the church of the Holy Spirit with its cemetery. The burial period of the excavated skeletons lasted most probably from the 1580s to the 1650s. Sodium, phosphorus, calcium, manganese, iron, copper, zinc, bromine, strontium and lead concentrations of ribs from skeletal remains of 141 individuals were analyzed. The main finding is that the concentrations of Sr and Zn in younger women tend to be lower than that in men of a corresponding age, and in older people both the strontium and zinc values tend to be higher in women than men. On the basis of this study the Pb exposure in the early modern population in Finland was at a very low level. We conclude that the role of migration and the source of grain supply on the variation of the elemental values are more difficult to evaluate than the role of diagenesis.

The relation between tooth eruption and alveolar crest height in a human skeletal sample.

It is commonly assumed that alveolar crest height increases with continuing tooth eruption unless affected by marginal inflammation. To test this hypothesis, the relation between eruption and alveolar crest height was examined in skulls from a sample consisting of the remains of 244 individuals from the late medieval period. The mandibular first and second molars and second premolars were analysed. The age of the skulls was determined on the basis of dental development and molar attrition. Radiographs were taken and points representing the levels of the inferior dental canal (IDC), root apices (AP), alveolar crest (AC), cementum-enamel junction (CEJ) and occlusal surface were determined on the radiographs. The level of the IDC was used as a reference not changing with age. The distances between the points were measured with a help of a computer-digitizer system. Variable IDC-AP increased with age, indicating continuous eruption of the teeth. The distance between AC and CEJ also increased while the distance between IDC and AC remained constant, showing that the alveolar crest height did not increase accordingly. The lack of inflammatory changes on the alveolar bone surface suggests that occlusal attrition may be compensated for by continuous eruption without bone growth in the alveolar margin.

Dental studies of a Finnish skeletal material: a paleopathologic approach.

This paper reviews a series of paleo-pathologic studies made to investigate associations between dietary factors and development of occlusion, periodontal diseases and caries. The findings indicate that the change from hard to soft food, which has taken place during the last few hundred years, influences occlusion, craniofacial structures and oral health in several ways. Comparative studies show that the frequency of malocclusion has increased substantially. In the same time, a number of alterations have taken place in the morphology of the craniofacial skeleton. The results support the hypothesis that masticatory stress is a regulative factor in craniofacial growth and occlusal development. With soft food and low masticatory activity, jaw growth is not adequate for optimal occlusal development. Approximal wear itself, caused by the attritive diet, seems to be only a minor adjustive factor. Because of the occlusal wear, the crown height decreased with age and the teeth continued to erupt. As a result, root surfaces were exposed. This process has been equated with bone loss but the lack of inflammatory changes on the bone surface indicates that the alveolar bone was not affected by periodontal diseases. This suggests that the alveolar height was maintained at a constant level throughout life and no growth nor resorption took normally place at the crest. Only the exposure of the furcations increased the occurrence of periodontitis. The caries frequency was decreased by mechanical cleaning effect of attritive food but increased by exposure of the root surfaces. Furthermore, the oral microflora may have been modified by factors related to the chemical and physical properties of the diet.

Prevalence and distribution of dental caries in a late medieval population in Finland.

The aim was to document the late medieval material and to compare the results with findings in other medieval populations and present-day Finns. The sample consisted of the remains of 410 individuals and included 4581 permanent and 600 deciduous teeth. Age determination was based on the stage of dental development and on the attrition pattern in the molar region. Scoring the presence and location of caries was done visually with the aid of a dental probe. In the younger age groups, caries was most prevalent in the occlusal fissures, but the proportion of cavities at these sites declined with age, possibly because occlusal attrition progressed more rapidly than did caries. In the permanent dentition, carious lesions were most frequently observed at the cementum-enamel junction, particularly on the approximal surfaces. The prevalence of caries was lower than among modern populations of similar ages. In addition, the relative distribution of caries was strikingly different, with root caries being the most common type.