Tooth Loss

Research from University of Hong Kong broadens understanding of periodontitis

Tooth Loss Library Library Home This article was published in Disease Prevention Week, which you can subscribe to online.

"Clinically, gingivitis is well recognized. Longitudinal studies on a patient cohort of 565 middle class Norwegian males have been performed over a 26-year period to reveal the natural history of initial periodontitis in dental-minded subjects between 16 and 34 years of age at the beginning of the study. Sites with consistent bleeding (GI=2) had 70% more attachment loss than sites that were consistenly non-inflamed (GI=0). Teeth with sites that were consistently non-inflamed had a 50-year survival rate of 99.5%, while teeth with consistently inflamed gingivae yielded a 50-year survival rate of 63.4%," wrote N.P. Lang and colleagues, University of Hong Kong.

The researchers concluded: "Based on this longitudinal study on the natural history of periodontitis in a dentally well-maintained male population it can be concluded that persistent gingivitis represents a risk factor for periodontal attachment loss and for tooth loss."

Lang and colleagues published their study in the Journal of Clinical Periodontology (Gingivitis as a risk factor in periodontal disease. Journal of Clinical Periodontology, 2009;36(Suppl. 10):3-8).

For additional information, contact N.P. Lang, University of Hong Kong, Prince Philip Dental Hospital, 34 Hospital Rd., Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China.

Publisher contact information for the Journal of Clinical Periodontology is: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, Inc., Commerce Place, 350 Main St., Malden 02148, MA, USA.

Keywords: People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, Clinical Periodontology, Epidemiology, Gingivitis, Inflammation, Periodontal Disease, Periodontitis, Tooth Loss, University of Hong Kong.

This article was prepared by Disease Prevention Week editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2009, Disease Prevention Week via NewsRx.com.