The rate of loss of maxillary anterior alveolar bone height in patients with leprosy

Abstract

Summary Alveolar bone loss and periodontal status were measured radiographi cally and clinically in 22 patients with leprosy after a 4-year interval. The average reduction in alveolar bone height in the anterior maxilla ranged from 0·09 to 0· 13 mm per year, being lowest in patients with lepromatous disease. These results are similar to previous measurements of attachment loss, a comparable parameter, in Norwegian patients without leprosy who exhibit good oral hygiene and much better than Sri Lankan patients with poor oral hygiene similar to that fo und in these patients with leprosy. These data suggest that previous observations of increased alveolar bone loss in patients with lepromatous disease are the result of bone lost before treatment and that reduced bone loss in the presence of abundant dental plaque and poor oral hygiene may be related to immune dysfunctions in patients with leprosy.Skeletal manifestations of leprosy in and around the oral cavity were first described as fa cies leprosa, 1 , 2 a tripartite resorption of the maxillary bone involving the nasal surface of the hard palate, its anterior extension, the anterior nasal spine, and its oral projection, the alveolar bone supporting the maxillary incisor teeth. These discoveries made from examinations of the skeletal remains of a medieval population of Danes with leprosy have recently been documented in

Periodontal findings in patients with leprosy

“…In the control group of 34 healthy patients 13 were males and 21 were fe males between 19 In Figure 1 correlation between OHI-S and the gingival index is also presented fo r the control group. Statistical differences between the OHI-S and the degree of gingival inflammation was fo und (p = 0•0000).…”

The earliest recorded case of lepromatous leprosy in continental Croatia

“…Absorption of the alveolar process of the maxilla resulting in antemortem loss of all incisors is seen only in the skull from grave 83. Alveolar destruction is a slow process caused by osteoclastic stimulation which is usually related to lepromatous leprosy (Marks and Subramaniam, 1978;Subramaniam et al, 1983). A clinical study from Jerusalem (Michman and Sagher, 1957) directly connected resorption of the maxillary alveolar bone and anterior nasal spine, and both processes increase with the duration of the disease.…”