PERIODONTAL CONDITIONS OF ADULT REGULAR DENTAL-CARE ATTENDANTS - A 12-YEAR LONGITUDINAL-STUDY

The purpose of the present study was to examine longitudinal alterations in the periodontal conditions of regular dental care attendants. 225 randomly selected patients (age 18-65 years) at 12 community dental clinics in the county of Varmland, Sweden, were subjected to a baseline clinical and radiographic examination in 1978 and to a re-examination in 1990. During the study period, all participants received preventive and therapeutic measures according to decisions made by the dentist on duty in the clinics. The examinations involved assessments of number of remaining teeth, plaque, gingivitis, probing pocket depth, loss of probing attachment and periodontal bone height. The results showed that during the 12 years of monitoring, an average of 0.4 teeth were lost. The % of tooth sites with gingivitis was lower in 1990 (4%) than in 1978 (15%), but no major changes were found for the mean probing pocket depth. The mean probing attachment loss during the 12 years amounted to 0.5 mm. The tooth site analysis revealed that buccal sites had experienced more loss of attachment than lingual and approximal surfaces. Whereas no differences were observed between age groups with respect to longitudinal loss of attachment at lingual and approximal tooth sites, the youngest age group demonstrated more pronounced loss at buccal surfaces than older subjects. The radiographic assessments of the alveolar bone height revealed a mean longitudinal loss amounting to 0.2-0.4 mm in the various age groups. The time-lag comparison revealed less tooth mortality, lower gingivitis scores, less probing attachment loss and less periodontal bone loss in 1990 than in 1978 for subjects of the age 30-53 years, whereas the data were similar for older subjects. The improvement was the result of less breakdown at lingual and approximal sites, whereas no difference was evident for buccal surfaces.