Juvenile periodontitis in black Jamaican females: A prospective study of eleven cases

OBJECTIVE: The aim was to study prospectively the clinicopathological aspects of juvenile periodontitis (JP) in Jamaica and assess the outcome of treatment (combined appropriate antimicrobial chemotherapy and periodontal surgery/manipulation). METHODS: The records of 11 patients (all Jamaica females of Africian descent) consecutively diagnosed as JP, were reviewed. The outcome of treatment (appropriate antimicrobial chemotherapy combined with periodontal surgery/manipulation) was assessed and documented. The microbiological swabs were taken from either the gingival sulcus, periodontal pathological pocket or root surface and sent to the Department of Microbiology of the University Hospital of the West Indies, Kingston, for microbiological analysis, prior to commencement of appropriate antimicrobial chemotherapy. RESULTS: The clinical and radiographic findings in this series of cases of juveniles periodontitis in Jamaica were consistent with what has been previously documented by other authors on JP throughout the world. However, the microbiolgy of JP in this study was varied, implicating organisms other than Actinobacillus actinomycetemiconitans, Capnnocytophagia spp, and E corridens. CONCCUSION: The outcome of treatment using these techniques was satisfactory.(Au)

A study into the development of the dental health care system and the dental status of government primary school children in Nannasu, Bahamas

Organised dentistry began in the Bahamas around 1928. Since that time the dental profession has grown steadily. Presently there are sixty-six practising dentist in the Bahamas, most of whom work in the private sector in Nassau, the nation's capital. The overall dentist to population ratio is 1:4, 250 with an unfavourable distribution in the Family Islands. The Government dental services cater to all sectors of the population and are staffed by dentists and very few operating auxiliaries. Staffing patterns however have been unsatisfactory in recent years with many dentists also practising privately. To date there have been no formal epidemiological studies conducted and formulation of a national oral health policy is also needed. This report investigates the dental status of primary school children in Nassau, Bahamas. The initial study examined data collected from five and eleven year old children at school screening during 1990-1993. In a second follow-up study, children in the same age group from a selected group of six schools, were also examined during a formalised survey. Result showed that overall the levels of dental caries in school children attending government primary school are low. The eleven year old children in the study had an average DMFT o 1.61 with 40.58 percent having no caries experience. The five year old in this study had a DMFT of 1.99 with 41.58 percent being caries-free. (AU)