A cross-sectional study into the prevalence of root caries in periodontal maintenance patients

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate cross-sectionally the prevalence and several risk indicators of root caries in 45 periodontal maintenance patients, who had been actively treated for adult periodontiti s 11-22 years ago. These patients were part of a routine 3-6 monthly mainte nance schedule. Active and inactive root caries and root fillings were reco rded, as well as coronal caries experience. Plaque and bleeding scores, num ber of exposed root surfaces, rate of saliva secretion, saliva buffering ca pacity, mutans streptococci counts and Lactobacilli were also scored. From the total of 45 study subjects, 37 patients (82%) showed root lesions (root caries and/or root fillings), while only 8 patients were free of any root lesions. On average, there were 4.3 root lesions per patient (range 0-19) i n the present study. 10 patients had active root caries lesions. Of all dam aged root surfaces, 9% were active lesions, mostly located on mandibular te eth at lingual and vestibulair sites; 40% were inactive lesions often detec ted at vestibular sites. The remaining damaged root surfaces (51%) were res tored; they were equally divided over both jaws. A higher number of root le sions was observed in those patients with >10(6) mutans streptococci/ml sal iva. Although the actual number of lesions per patient was low in relation to the large number of sites with gingival recession, the results from this cross-sectional study in periodontal maintenance patients indicate that: ( 1) root caries can be regarded as a complication in periodontal maintenance patients; (2) the individual number of root lesions correlate with individ ual dental plaque scores; (3) a high number of root lesions is associated w ith high counts of salivary mutans streptococci; (4) no relation between ro ot caries and coronal caries experience, salivary secretion rate or salivar y buffering capacity seems present. Therefore, repeated oral hygiene instru ctions and adjunctive preventive measures including diet counseling and flu oride rinses, as well as fluoride and chlorhexidine varnishes, should be ad vocated in high-risk patients.