Longitudinal assessment of early-onset periodontitis
The purpose of this study was to determine the clinical course of early-onset periodontitis and to investigate factors that may influence its clinical course. For the past 15 years the periodontal condition of families with early-onset periodontitis was examined. These patients include 142 with localized juvenile periodontitis and 185 with severe generalized early-onset periodontitis. In order to study the clinical course of EOP, patients were recalled to determine their periodontal status. Forty patients with LJP and 48 with generalized early-onset periodontitis (SP) were reexamined. The time since the most recent visit for LJP patients was approximately three years; for SP, almost four years. LJP patients who received periodontal therapy on the average gained periodontal attachment. In contrast, LJP patients who did not receive therapy lost periodontal attachment. SP patients lost periodontal attachment regardless of whether or not they had periodontal therapy. SP patients also lost an average of one tooth during the approximately four years of observation. LJP patients lost very few teeth (only four teeth were lost in 40 patients). The results of this study suggest that localized juvenile periodontitis is a stable disease in most individuals. In contrast, patients with severe generalized early-onset periodontitis continued to lose both periodontal attachment and teeth. [P.W..]
Gunsolley, J.C., J.V. Califano, T.E. Koertge, J.A. Burmeister, L.C. Cooper, and H.A. Schenkein, J Periodont, 66:321, 1995