CYTOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF CELLULAR COMPOSITION OF GINGIVAL MUCOSA IN SCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN

Abstract

Relevance of research. Morphological study is one of the precise methods to identify pathology in the early stages. Until present, no reports on cellular composition of the gingival mucosa in children by using cytological method have been carried out. The aim of the work was to establish the characteristics of the cellular composition of the gingival mucosa of school-age children in normal conditions. Material and methods. Cytological examination included 150 children aged 6, 12 and 15, living in Poltava, who had no clinical signs of oral diseases. Smears were obtained by scraping from the gingival mucosa and stained by May-Grunwald. Results and discussion. The results of cytolograms of the cellular composition of gingiva in school children have shown that superficial cells predominate. The largest number of them is determined in 6 year-old children. The process of physiological keratinisation in the epithelial plate of gingival mucosa in school-age children is diverse and keratinisation occurs both due to the phenomenon of physiological necrosis, i. e. apoptosis of superficial cells, and due to orthokeratosis manifested by epithelial cells in the cytoplasm of eosinophilic granules with the subsequent formation of horny scales. This type of keratinisation is the leading one along with the destruction of mitochondria and a decrease in the number of enzymes in the horny scales. From the age of 6, the average number of surface cells in the cytograms decreases, while the intermediate and horny scales increase to 12 years and remains constant in 15 year-old children.