Patterns of progression and regression of advanced destructive periodontal disease

TLDR

The study measured attachment levels at two sites per tooth in 22 untreated patients monthly for one year and used regression analysis to detect significant trends in attachment change at each periodontal site. During the year, 82.8 % of sites remained unchanged, 5.7 % deepened, 11.5 % became shallower, with many deepening sites showing cyclic deepening and spontaneous recovery, and some subjects exhibiting simultaneous deepening and shallowing or arrested disease with no deepening.

Abstract

Abstract Attachment level at two sites on each tooth in 22 untreated subjects with existing periodontal pockets was measured every month for 1 year. Regression analysis was then applied to the data from each periodontal site to determine if statistically significant trends in attachment level change could be detected. 82.8 % of the sites monitored did not significantly change during the year. 5.7% of the sites became significantly deeper and 11.5% of the sites became significantly shallower ( P < 0.01) during the period. Among those sites in which pocket depth increased, approximately half exhibited a cyclic deepening followed by spontaneous recovery to their original depth. In 15 of the subjects, sites were found which became significantly deeper while other sites within the same subject became significantly shallower. In six subjects, who might be considered to have an arrested form of periodontal disease, virtually no sites became deeper during the monitoring period whereas 11–36% of their sites became significantly shallower. The results of this investigation suggest that a dynamic condition of disease exacerbation and remission as well as periods of inactivity may be characteristic of periodontal disease.