Periodontitis and Periodontal Conditions in Systemically Healthy Children and Adolescents.

OBJECTIVE

To answer the PICoS question 'in systemically healthy children and adolescents (Population), what are the main features of periodontitis, necrotising periodontal diseases (NPD) and other periodontal conditions (periodontal abscesses, endo-periodontal lesions, traumatic occlusal forces, prosthesis- and tooth-related factors) (Phenomenon of Interest) in terms of epidemiology, aetiology, risk factors/indicators, diagnosis, prevention or therapy (Context)'.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

Four databases were searched up to September 2024, and studies were included that considered children and adolescents (< 18 years).

RESULTS

During the search, 5389 potential publications were identified of which 205 articles were included. Most studies reported on periodontitis (n = 148), followed by mucogingival conditions (n = 42), NPD (n = 13) and periodontal abscesses (n = 2). There were no studies dealing with other periodontal conditions.

CONCLUSIONS

In children and adolescents (1) the quality of the evidence is generally very low; (2) prevalence of periodontitis varied from 0.1% to 30.36%, and increases over time, with variations due to diagnostic criteria, risk indicators and study populations; (3) NPD showed large variability in prevalence (0%-27.1%) associated with socioeconomic, nutritional and environmental factors and (4) prevalence of gingival recession ranged from 1% to 74%, orthodontic therapy being one of the most studied associated factors.