DENTAL-CARIES AND TOOTH LOSS IN ADOLESCENTS WITH EARLY-ONSET PERIODONTITIS

THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO ASSESS the caries experience and tooth lo ss over 6 years in subjects with early-onset periodontitis as compared to their matched controls, and to describe the characteristics of tee th lost during this period. A multi-stage probability sample represent ing 8th to 12th grade U.S. schoolchildren were screened during the 198 6/1987 school year to identify subjects with early-onset periodontitis (cases). The examination included measuring the clinical attachment l evel, presence of caries and dental restorations, and tooth loss. A ra ndom sample of controls without early-onset periodontitis were selecte d for a follow-up examination and were matched to cases on gender, rac e, age, and geographic location. A total of 266 subjects, with a mean age of 16 years at baseline, were examined during the 1992/1993 school year and were classified into localized (LJP) and generalized juvenil e periodontitis (GJP), incidental attachment loss (IAL), and control g roups. Whites had more caries experience than Blacks and Hispanics, bu t there were no significant differences in tooth loss between the ethn ic groups. The LJP and the IAL groups, respectively, had higher and lo wer overall caries experience than the control group. The LJP group ha d a significantly higher number of missing teeth at follow-up, and exh ibited more extensive tooth mortality during 6 years than the control group. The GJP group also showed more tooth loss than the control grou p, but the difference was not statistically significant. In the LJP, G JP, IAL, and control groups, respectively, 43%, 32%, 26%, and 18% of t he subjects lost teeth over 6 years due to disease. The findings showe d differences in caries activity between the early-onset periodontitis groups and a variation by race. The findings suggest that loss of per iodontal support was the principal cause for tooth loss in the LJP and GJP groups, and that dental caries was the principal cause for tooth extraction in the IAL and the control groups.