Periodontal findings in diabetic and nondiabetic patients.

This study was conducted to determine the possible influence of diabetes on the pathogenesis of periodontal disease. A total of 148 patients, 120 females and 28 males, were surveyed. Their ages ranged between 9 and 50 years, with an average age of 30. The experimental group consisted of 83 diabetics and there was a control group of 65 nondiabetics. Both groups were divided into patients under and over the age of 30. The results showed: 1. Loss of attachment was higher in the over-30 diabetic group in the presence of similar local factors. 2. A higher Gingival Index was reported in diabetics of the combined age groups than in the controls (P less than 0.05). 3. The Plaque and Calculus Indices did not differ significantly between the diabetic and control subjects. 4. The correlation between the Plaque Index and loss of attachment in diabetics was the most relevant of the correlation analyses. The correlation between the gingival inflammation and loss of attachment indices in the combined diabetic group was also significant. 5. In both groups, diabetics and controls, periodontal destruction increased significantly with age. 6. Juvenile diabetics with severe periodontal disease, as well as others with normal periodontal structures, were found in the course of this study. These findings coincided with the presence or absence of local factors.

Longitudinal study of periodontal condition in students of the Dental School the University of Buenos Aires Argentina.

The aim of the present study was to describe, clinically and radiographically, the gingivoperiodontal condition of students (young adults) entering the Dental School and reassess it 2 years later. Four hundred and seventy-five students, 147 male and 328 female (mean: 19.66 years) were studied (Initial examination: IE); two years later, 240 students 76 male and 164 female were reevaluated (Final examination: FE). The clinical examination include Plaque Index (P1I), Gingival Index (GI), Bleeding on Probing (BOP), Probing Pocket Depth (PPD), and Attachment Level (AL). Alveolar bone level was measured on bite wing radiographs. At the IE, 46.5% of the sites had no visual signs of inflammation and 65.3% did not bleed on probing, however 91% of the students had at least one site with BOP. (Prevalence). Of the total sites probed 99.47% had crevices between 1 to 4 mm. 92% had AL between 0 to 1 mm. And only 7.9% had AL > 1 mm. 49.6% of the students had at least one site with AL > 1 mm. Prevalence of alveolar bones loss > 2 mm. was 2.95% and in no case measurements exceeded 3 mm. Distal of teeth 16 and 36 showed the highest P1I, GI, PPD and AL, therefore these teeth showed the highest risk of pathology in the population studied. In the final examination 70.5% of the sites had GI 0 and 73% did not bleed on probing. 90.4% of the students had at least one site with BOP. No statistically significant difference in PPD nor in AL was found between IE and FE. In this population of young adults prevalence of gingivitis was high but severity was low. Prevalence of loss of attachment was near 50% but only 7.9% of the sites had AL > 1 mm. After studying dentistry for two years the prevalence of gingivitis was similar but the severity was lower. Periodontal condition was not substantially modified.

Intraoral cancellous bone autografts in the treatment of infrabony pockets.

One hundred infrabony pockets with one- and two-wall bony defects were treated for reattachment. Mucoperiosteal flaps were raised, the tooth surfaces were scaled and planed, and the defects curetted. Flaps were sutured tightly and the sites protected with a surgical dressing. Antibiotic coverage was used in each case. Pre- and postoperative measurements were taken by the same clinician from the cemento-enamel junction to the base of the pocket. In 56 defects cancellous bone from the same patient was placed in the defect, and in 44 defects the treatment consisted only of open curettage without bone grafts. The results showed a trend towards more favourable clinical results using bone grafts; especially in the two-wall bony defects.