Eighty‐five 12–18‐yr‐old adolescents suffering from insulin‐dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) and their healthy age‐ and sex‐matched controls were investigated with respect to dental caries, salivary flow rate, pH and buffering capacity of saliva, counts for lactobacilli and mutans streptococci, and salivary glucose content. The diabetics had their disease well controlled according to the HbA1 levels. The results showed no statistically significant difference between diabetics and controls in DMF and DMFS indexes and the number of initial caries lesions. Mean number of initial caries lesions was 3.2 in diabetics, 2.3 in controls. Mean stimulated salivary flow rate was 1.2 ml/min in the patients, 1.4 ml/min in the controls. The pH and buffering capacity values were 7.3 and 4.8 in the patients, 7.4 and 5.1 in the controls, respectively. High counts of mutans streptococci (> 106 CFU/ml) and lactobacilli (> 105 CFU/ml) were observed more often, but not significantly so, among the patients than in the controls. The mean concentration of glucose in saliva was 10.3 μg/ml in the patients, 9.7 lμg/ml in the controls. Thus, if the patients' IDDM is well controlled, their salivary and caries data does not differ from that of healthy controls.
The periodontal status of 85 12-18 year-old Finnish adolescents with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) and their paired, age- and sex-matched healthy controls was assessed clinically and radiographically. The clinical examination consisted of plaque index, gingival index (GI), retentive calculus index, WHO community periodontal index of treatment needs, number of pockets greater than or equal to 4 mm and number of surfaces bleeding after probing. Alveolar bone loss was measured interproximally from the first molars in bite-wing radiographs (all subjects) and from the first incisors in periapical X-rays (patients only). The results show that in spite of similar plaque scores, the patients had higher GI scores and more surfaces bleeding after probing. No differences were found in the number of greater than or equal to 4 mm pockets or radiographical bone loss in the first molars.
Functional disorders of the masticatory system in a working age population in Southwest Finland were investigated both by interview (subjective symptoms) and by clinical examination (objective symptoms). The randomized material consisted of 583 subjects. 58% had subjective symptoms of dysfunction. With certain exceptions, the symptoms did not correlate with age, sex or use of removable dentures. The number of subjects with symptoms was highest in the group with the highest number of occluding teeth. 5% of subjects with subjective symptoms had received treatment. Clinical examination revealed symptoms in 41%. Sex did not correlate with the findings. The percentage of subjects with clinical symptoms was higher among those over 35 than in the younger age groups; this correlation was not, however, observed in the full denture wearers. Full denture wearers had symptoms more often than the others. Although young persons with relatively good natural dentition showed objective symptoms less often than the elderly and those wearing full dentures or with incomplete dentition, they more frequently had subjective experiences. This perhaps explains why the findings based on patient materials differ from those reported from pure population studies.
The morphotypes of the subgingival microflora from 85 12 to 18-year-old Finnish adolescents with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) were studied in Gram- and Rhodes-stained smears. A comparison was made with subgingival plaque samples from paired age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Significant differences were found in the distribution of the morphotypes. The microflora in the IDDM patient group contained significantly lower proportions of Gram-positive and Gram-negative cocci and total Gram-positive bacteria and higher proportions of Gram-negative rods, fusiforms, and total Gram-negative bacteria. In the Rhodes-stained samples, the patients had more straight and curved rods and less fusiforms than the controls. The proportions of spirochetes and flagellated bacteria were almost identical in both groups. The clinical periodontal status of the subjects had been reported in a separate study. In spite of similar Plaque Index scores, the patients had more gingivitis than the controls. This finding may be explained by the distribution of morphotypes: more Gram-negative rods and total Gram-negative bacteria (periodontally more pathogenic forms) in the diabetic patients.
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