The periodontal status of irregular dental attendees
Does the lack of attendance of regular dental visits predispose a person to increased risk of periodontal disease? This is the question posed by the researchers, who classified nonattenders as patients seeking dental care only if they had trouble with their teeth. The patients were recruited from a casualty clinic at the School of Dentistry, Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. It was concluded that "irregular dental attendees had more plaque, calculus and gingival inflammation . . . periodontal attachment loss was the same between the irregular and regular dental attenders.² It is suggested but not shown by these authors that a more rapid progression of periodontitis in susceptible individuals could occur.
Mullally, B., and G.J. Linden, J Clin Periodont, 21:544, 1994