Prevalence of periodontitis and alveolar bone loss in a patient population at Harvard School of Dental Medicine

Abstract

BackgroundAlthough several studies assessed the prevalence of alveolar bone loss, the association with several risk factors has not been fully investigated. The aim of this article is to measure the prevalence of periodontitis by calculating the mean alveolar bone loss/level of posterior teeth using bitewing radiographs among the patients enrolled in the clinics at Harvard School of Dental Medicine and address risk factors associated with the disease.MethodsOne thousand one hundred thirty-one patients were selected for radiographic analysis to calculate the mean alveolar bone loss/level by measuring the distance between the cementoenamel junction and the alveolar bone crest on the mesial and distal surfaces of posterior teeth. Linear regression with Multi-level mixed-effect model was used for statistical analysis adjusting for age, sex, race, median household income, and other variables.ResultsMean alveolar bone level of the whole sample was 1.30 mm (±0.006). Overall periodontitis prevalence for the sample was 55.5% (±1.4%). Moderate periodontitis prevalence was 20.7% (±1.2%), while 2.8% (±0.5%) of the whole sample had severe periodontitis. Adjusted mean alveolar bone loss was higher in older age groups, males, Asian race group, ever smokers, and patients with low median household income.ConclusionThe effect of high household income on the amount of bone loss can be powerful to the degree that high household income can influence outcomes even for individuals who had higher risks of developing the disease. Public health professionals and clinicians need to collaborate with policy makers to achieve and sustain high quality of healthcare for everyone.

Annual alveolar bone loss in subjects with cardiovascular disease adjusting for associated systemic diseases and risk factors: a retrospective study

“…The sample of this retrospective cohort study was obtained as a subpopulation from a previously selected sample for the estimation of prevalence of periodontitis [15,16]. Information were gathered from an electronic health records system (AxiUm®) at Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM), including several variables.…”

“…Information were gathered from an electronic health records system (AxiUm®) at Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM), including several variables. The socioeconomic status (SES) was estimated using ZIP codes of all subjects and U.S. Census Bureau statistics which was previously explained [15,16] (U.S. Census Bureau 2016). The subjects' pool was selected based on their age at their last appointment at HSDM.…”

“…Excluded subjects were previously explained [15,16]. Briefly, less than 18 years old, no or unclear BW radiographs, absence of at least 2 approximating teeth, closed electronic files, and inability to do calibration with the measuring tool.…”

“…After examining each subject's electronic health records and applying same exclusion methodology, a total of 87 subjects were identified and their BW radiographs were suitable for examination and analysis. For eligible subjects, teeth were excluded if it had certain criteria which were previously explained [15,16].…”

“…The primary outcome is the difference of mean alveolar bone level in millimeters between the group that were having CVD and the group that were free of any CVD, comparing mean bone levels at follow up visits to baseline mean of both groups which has been previously described [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]. Systemic diseases for control group 27 out of the 87 subjects in the control group had reported having diabetes, hypertension, or both.…”