TOOTH LOSS DUE TO PERIODONTAL ABSCESS - A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY

THIS RETROSPECTIVE STUDY FOCUSED on the frequency of tooth loss due to periodontal abscess among 42 patients who were treated by a single cl inician over a 5- to 29-year period. A total of 114 patients were sele cted from the active periodontal recall schedule of a single periodont ist at The University of Iowa College of Dentistry, The criteria for i nclusion in the study included having a history of moderate to advance d periodontitis, being on 3 to 6 month recall periodontal maintenance care, and completion of active periodontal therapy prior to October 19 87. Other parameters evaluated were age; gender; number of teeth prese nt and missing at the initial, reevaluation, and last periodontal reca ll visit; initial periodontal prognosis; furcation involvement; non-su rgical and surgical periodontal therapy; and reasons for tooth loss, P atients were grouped according to the number of teeth lost following a ctive periodontal treatment into well-maintained (0 to 3), downhill (4 to 9), and extreme downhill (10 to 23) groups. Forty-two of the 114 p atients were identified as having one or more periodontal abscesses. A total of 109 teeth were affected by periodontal abscess of which 49 ( 45%) teeth were lost and 60 (55%) were successfully maintained over an average of 12.5 years (5 to 29 years). More furcated teeth were lost than nonfurcated teeth and teeth given a hopeless prognosis were lost more consistently than those given a questionable prognosis in all gro ups, The frequency of periodontal abscess and tooth loss per patient w as greater in the downhill and extreme downhill response groups than t he well-maintained group. This suggests that teeth with a history of p eriodontal abscess can be treated and maintained for several years.