INCIDENCE OF EARLY PERIODONTITIS IN A GROUP OF YOUNG INDIVIDUALS DURING 8 YEARS - ASSOCIATIONS WITH SELECTED POTENTIAL PREDICTORS

THE AIM OF THE PRESENT STUDY WAS TO ASSESS the incidence of early radi ographic bone loss in a birth cohort over 8 years and to assess possib le associations between incidence of bone loss and reported dental beh avior, ethnic background, and previous orthodontic treatment. In a cas e control study comprising a proportion of the study population, the d etection of black pigmented Bacteroides and Actinobacillus actinomycet emcomitans and their association with early radiographic bone loss was assessed. At the beginning of the study in 1984, there were 2,767 sub jects. In 1992 sets of bite-wing radiographs were obtained from 215 su bjects, who also filled out a questionnaire concerning their present a nd past dental behavior, ethnic background, and orthodontic treatment. Radiographic alveolar bone loss was recorded if the distance from the cemento-enamel junction to the alveolar crest exceeded 2 mm. Thirteen subjects (6%) showed new sites with bone loss over the 8-year period. Subgingival plaque was sampled from these 13 subjects and from 13 con trol subjects. None of the independent variables could be associated w ith the observed incidence of radiographic bone loss in this cohort, w ith the possible exception of the presence of A. actinomycetemcomitans which was detected in about 50% of the new sites with bone loss.