THE VASCULATURE IN CHRONIC ADULT PERIODONTITIS - A QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE STUDY

BLOOD VESSEL FEATURES IN PERIODONTAL POCKET soft tissues may be signif icant in the pathogenesis and progression of chronic periodontitis. Th e aim of this study was to make a quantitative histological assessment of the vasculature in soft tissue biopsies from patients with chronic adult periodontitis and patients with healthy periodontal tissues. We have also investigated changes in tissue morphology at both the histo logical and ultrastructural level. Twelve interdental biopsies were ob tained, 6 from chronic adult periodontitis patients and 6 from healthy volunteers. The specimens were sliced, fixed in 3% glutaraldehyde, po stfixed in 1% buffered osmium tetroxide, dehydrated, and embedded in a raldite. One mu m semithin sections were differentially stained with a dichromatic technique. The number of blood vessels (BV) for sub-epith elial, superficial and deep connective tissue layers were then assesse d. Only in the sub-epithelial connective tissue layer was there a sign ificant increase in the number of blood vessels (95% Confidence interv al [CI]) in the chronic adult periodontitis specimens when compared to healthy specimens. The results of this study seem to indicate that a dichromatic staining technique facilitates the identification and quan tification of blood vessels in epoxy resin embedded specimens at light microscope level, and that there is an increase in the number of bloo d vessels in the chronic adult periodontitis lesions.