Assessment of risk for periodontal disease. I. Risk indicators for attachment loss
This study looked at a population and assessed the role of systemic diseases, socioeconomic factors, smoking occupational hazards, and subgingival bacteria as risk indicators for attachment loss. Researchers looked at 1,426 subjects, ages ranging from 25 to 74 years. There was a wide range of disease severity assessed by attachment loss; a group that had no attachment loss served as controls. Questionnaires asked about demographics and socioeconomic status, medical history, dental habits, dental care utilization, history of smoking and other occupational hazards. Researchers also performed a clinical exam and assayed plaque samples. Their results showed that age was strongly related to attachment loss, with the odds ratio ranging from 1.72 for 35 and 9.01 for 65-74 years old. Subjects with systemic disease had a higher tendency for more attachment loss. Diabetes mellitus was the only systemic condition positively related to attachment loss, with an odds ratio of 2.32. Smoking had a dose-dependent correlation ranging from 2.05 for light smokers to 4.75 for heavy smokers. Microbial flora showed a correlation with Porphyromonas gingivalis and bacteroides forsythus, which showed a 1.59 and 2.34 risk, respectively. The study concluded that age, smoking diabetes mellitus, and the presence of P. gingivalis and B.forsythus are risk indicators for attachment loss. [M.C. R.]
Grossi S.G., J. Zambon, A. Ho, G. Koch, R. Dunford, E. Machtei O. Norderyd, and R. Genco, J Periodont, 65:260, 1994