A population of 100 patients with periodontal disease who had been treated and maintained for 15 years or longer was studied for tooth loss. The patients averaged 43.8 years of age and consisted of 59 females and 41 males. Patients were examined and their dental records were reviewed. On the basis of response to therapy and tooth loss, the patients were classified as Well-Maintained (77), Downhill (15), or Extreme Downhill (8). At the completion of initial treatment, 2,627 teeth were present. Of this number, during the maintenance period, 259 teeth (9.8%) were lost due to periodontal disease, while 40 teeth (1.5%) were lost due to other causes. Evaluation was made as to patterns of tooth loss, loss of questionable teeth, loss of teeth with furcations, surgical vs. nonsurgical therapy, and presence of fixed or removable prostheses. Considerable variation occurred between response groups. Periodontal disease appears to be bilaterally symmetrical and tooth loss response emulated this pattern with greatest loss of maxillary second molars and least loss of mandibular cuspids.

Records of 63 patients diagnosed as having moderate periodontitis who had been treated and maintained by scaling and root planing for 10 years or longer (mean 13.6 years, range 10 to 34 years) in dental school clinics were reviewed for tooth loss. The patients averaged 45 years of age (range 24 to 67 years) at the initial appointment, and 41 were female. Record audit determined type of periodontal treatment, total tooth loss, periodontally related tooth loss, loss of teeth with furcation invasion, plaque scores, and maintenance interval. Results of therapy were evaluated by groups on the basis of number of teeth lost. At the completion of active periodontal therapy 1,607 teeth were present in the patients. During the maintenance period, 115 teeth (7.1%) were lost and of these 88 (5.0%) were lost due to periodontal reasons. Maxillary and mandibular molar teeth, particularly maxillary second molars, were the teeth lost most frequently to periodontal disease. Of the 164 teeth initially indicated as having furcation invasion, 23% were subsequently lost. This retrospective study confirms the low rate of tooth mortality occurring when patients with periodontal disease are treated and kept on a maintenance program. Canines were the teeth least frequently lost.

This study evaluated the ability of clinicians to detect residual calculus following subgingival scaling and root planing and compared the clinical detection to the microscopic presence and surface area occupied by calculus found on teeth extracted after instrumentation. Interexaminer and intraexaminer reproducibility in clinically detecting subgingival calculus was also determined. One hundred one extracted teeth with 476 instrumented tooth surfaces were evaluated stereomicroscopically for the presence of calculus and the percent surface area with calculus was determined by computerized imaging analysis; 57% of all surfaces had residual microscopic calculus and the mean percent calculus per surface area was 3.1% (0 to 31.9%). Shallow sites had greater surface area of calculus than moderate and deep sites. The difference was not significant. The interexaminer and intraexaminer clinical agreement in detecting calculus was low. There was a high false negative response (77.4% of the surfaces with microscopic calculus were clinically scored as being free of calculus) and a low false positive response (11.8% of the surfaces microscopically free of calculus were clinically determined to have calculus). This study indicates the difficulties in clinically determining the thoroughness of subgingival instrumentation.

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Fourteen patients were examined and determined to lack an adequate zone of attached gingiva in the mandibular incisor region. Each patient was treated on the left side of the mandible by placement of a free gingival graft on denuded bone and 12 of the 14 patients received a free gingival graft on retained periosteum in the right mandibular anterior region. Two patients were treated on the right side by either bone denudation or periosteal bed preparation without graft placement to permit histological evaluation of wound healing under these circumstances. Grafts were retained for time intervals from 1 week to 24 weeks. All patients were evaluated clinically for graft "take", graft healing, graft shrinkage, and graft mobility.