PREVALENCE OF PERIODONTAL-DISEASE IN PATIENTS WITH SJOGRENS-SYNDROME

The periodontal status of 25 patients with Sjogren's syndrome was comp ared with that of an age-, sex-, and race-matched healthy controls. Cl inical evaluation included determination of number of teeth, decayed/m issing/filled surfaces, probing pocket depth, clinical attachment leve l, plaque index, gingival index, bleeding on probing, and measurement of alveolar bone level (examined with radiography). Results of the stu dy suggest that patients with Sjogren's syndrome have a significantly higher plaque index score (p < 0.005), higher decayed/missing/filled s urfaces scores (p < 0.05), increased alveolar bone loss (p < 0.05), de eper clinical attachment level (p < 0.05), and increased cementoenamel junction-alveolar bone crest distance (p < 0.005). Although no signif icant difference was found in the number of cases of ''established per iodontitis'' between the Sjogren's syndrome and controls, odds ratio a nalysis suggests that patients with Sjogren's syndrome are at 2.2 time s higher risk of having adult periodontitis than healthy controls.