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Destructive Forms of Periodontal Disease in Adolescents. A 3‐Year Longitudinal Study
Author(s) -
Albandar Jasim M.,
Buischi Yvonne A. P.,
Barbosa Maria F. Z.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
journal of periodontology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.036
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1943-3670
pISSN - 0022-3492
DOI - 10.1902/jop.1991.62.6.370
Subject(s) - molar , medicine , dentistry , dental alveolus , periodontitis , longitudinal study , clinical attachment loss , tooth loss , orthodontics , pathology , oral health
W e studied the periodontal disease progression and the relationship between some forms of destructive periodontitis in a group of Brazilian adolescents with high prevalence of periodontal destruction, and evaluated the adequacy of reducing data by limiting the measurement of disease to first molars and by aggregating and pooling site‐scores into subject‐level scores. Over a period of 3 years 222 adolescents were examined annually by bite‐wing radiographs. Individuals displaying arc‐shaped bone lesions adjacent to ≥ 2 first molars were diagnosed as juvenile periodontitis (JP) patients, while those with ≥ 1 first molars showing vertical lesions were regarded as periodontal risk subjects. Teenagers with ≥ 2 first molars exhibiting longitudinal bone loss were defined as high‐risk patients. At the ages of 13 and 16 years, 3 (1.3%) and 4 (1.8%) subjects had JP, while 12 (5.4%) and 28 (12.6%) were regarded as periodontal risks; 8 (3.6%) subjects were assigned to the high‐risk group; 4 (1.8%) 13‐year olds had > 1 first molars missing; hence, no loss of posterior teeth occurred over a period of 3 years. Analyzing the data at the site‐level revealed progressive loss and little fluctuation in the alveolar bone height in the high‐risk group, and a more pronounced bone loss at the mesial than at the distal surfaces. Simpler data sets were constructed by aggregating some of the site‐scores or by pooling these into subject‐level scores. This procedure facilitated the identification of high‐risk subjects and studying the disease activity over time at the subject level. The results indicate that early periodontitis and JP are closely related but distinguishable forms of periodontal disease in adolescents, and stress the importance of early identification of subjects at risk of developing destructive periodontal diseases. The pattern of disease progression in adolescents appears to resemble that reported in adults. The findings also suggest that the employed methods of data reduction are useful in epidemiological studies on periodontal disease progression in adolescents. J Periodontol 1991;62:370–376.