Review Article. The knowledge of juvenile periodontitis is still fragmentary. In 50 years we have advanced from the concept of diffuse atrophy of the alveolar bone (Gottlieb 1923) through the theory of non inflammatory ,degenerative disease of the periodontium (Orban and Weinberg 1942) to the present conception of juvenile periodontitis (Manson and Lehner 1974, Waerhaug 1977) as a periodontal disease appearing in young individuals with inflammation always present.
The clinical picture of the disease is quite clear as Baer described it (1971):rapid destruction of the alveolar bone ,not commensurate with the local irritants, around more than one permanent tooth in otherwise healthy adolescents.
The etiology is still unknown. The BACTERIOLOGICAL findings of Socransky et al (1970) and Newman et al (1974),suggesting some Gram negative rods as an etiologic factor, are still controversial. Neither the IMMUNOLOGICAL theory of Lehner (1974),that juvenile periodontitis is a selective cell mediated immunodeficiency condition is fully accepted. HEREDITY is a factor with more evidence .It might be either an autosomal, recessive trait (Fourel 1972, Jorgenson 1975) or an x-linked dominant disease. (Melnick 1976).
The prevalence rates vary from 0,1% to 17,6% . Juvenile periodontitis seems to exist in all racial groups and less common in Caucasoid populations and more frequent in India and Africa.
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