Prevalence of Gum Disease in Preterm and Term Adolescents

Sergio Spezzia

doi:10.15226/jdodt.2017.00175

Abstract

Aim: Assess and compare the prevalence of gum disease in preterm and term-born adolescents. Materials and Methods: A cross section study was conducted involving adolescents between the ages of 10 and 19. One group of 120 preterm-born adolescents and a g roup of 149 term-born adolescents (control). Physicians conducted physical exams in these groups to measure pubertal stages, dividing the patients into 3 subgroups according to Tanner’s stages. The dental exam was conducted by four specialist dentist examiners. The community periodontal index of treatment need and measurements of plaque index were conducted. Results: Comparing the preterm-born adolescents to the termborn ones, it was verified that the term group presented a higher prevalence of gum disease than the preterm group and the difference was statistically significant (p < 0.01). There was no statistically significant difference in the prevalence of gum disease when comparing the preterm-born adolescents with weight at birth < 1500 to the ones weighing ≥ 1500 grams. The preterm-born adolescent group did not present significant difference in the prevalence of gum disease in relation to Tanner’s subgroups; however, when both groups were assessed together, it was verified that females, after the growth spurt, present a 3.7 times higher risk of gum disease. Conclusion: The ranges of weight upon birth, low weight and very low weight did not impact the prevalence of gum disease in premature adolescents. Growth spurt increases the risk of developing periodontal disease in the female gender. Girls, after the spurt, tend to have more gum disease than girls before the spurt.

Highlights

The most common mouth diseases are dental caries and periodontal disease [1].Among the factors leading to the appearance of periodontal disease, the most relevant are: the formation of the dental biofilm, systemic diseases, medications, bruxism, deficient nutrition, stress, smoking and hormonal changes that lead to gingivitis and exacerbate previous periodontal disease [2,3,4,5].Periodontal disease is an infectious, chronic and asymptomatic disease, and both the gingivitis and the periodontitis forms are caused by exposure of the periodontal tissue to the action of bacteria that adhere to the dental surface [6].Gingivitis is established when the gum tissue is inflamed
The average was significantly higher in the group of term adolescents, both for girls (p < 0.001) and for both genders (p < 0.001)
Plaque index was significantly higher in the group of term adolescents term (p < 0.05) for girls, boys, and both genders

Summary

Introduction

The most common mouth diseases are dental caries and periodontal disease [1].Among the factors leading to the appearance of periodontal disease, the most relevant are: the formation of the dental biofilm, systemic diseases, medications (contraceptives and antidepressants), bruxism, deficient nutrition, stress, smoking and hormonal changes that lead to gingivitis and exacerbate previous periodontal disease [2,3,4,5].Periodontal disease is an infectious, chronic and asymptomatic disease, and both the gingivitis and the periodontitis forms are caused by exposure of the periodontal tissue to the action of bacteria that adhere to the dental surface [6].Gingivitis is established when the gum tissue is inflamed. The most common mouth diseases are dental caries and periodontal disease [1]. Periodontal disease is an infectious, chronic and asymptomatic disease, and both the gingivitis and the periodontitis forms are caused by exposure of the periodontal tissue to the action of bacteria that adhere to the dental surface [6]. Gingivitis is established when the gum tissue is inflamed. Gingivitis is defined as a pathological alteration of inflammatory characteristic of the gum tissues, with clinical appearance of bleeding, redness, sensitivity and edema, which is reversible, and may or may not progress to other areas of the tooth, resulting in loss of bone insertion (periodontitis). Gingivitis is manifested by bleeding on probing [7,8,9]

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Conclusion