Manifestations of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus in the periodontium of young Brazilian patients. A 10-year follow-up study.

Eight female and 3 male patients from a group of 30 patients studied 10 years earlier and who had received no periodontal treatment during this period, in order to evaluate the progression of untreated periodontal disease in patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, were evaluated in terms of plaque accumulation, gingival inflammation, probing depth, and alveolar bone loss. The total number of dental surfaces that presented clinically detectable plaque deposits increased significantly (29% to 43%; P < 0.01; chi 2 = 46.36). Site-specific comparisons for plaque index between studies showed a significant variation (P < 0.01) in the upper arch only for palatal surfaces and in the lower arch for the buccal and lingual surfaces. The total dental surfaces with inflamed surrounding gingiva increased from 11% to 33% in this study (P < 0.01; chi 2 = 175.78). Site-specific comparison for gingival index showed a significant variation for all upper surfaces, while such difference for the lower arch was significant only for the buccal and lingual surfaces. The arithmetic means for the probing depth for the upper buccal, upper palatal, lower buccal, and lower lingual surfaces increased significantly (P < 0.01). The arithmetic means of alveolar bone loss also increased significantly for the upper posterior and lower regions (P < 0.01) and for the upper anterior and lower anterior regions (P < 0.05). The correlation between age and probing depth was significant only for the upper palatal region (P < 0.01). The correlation between age and bone loss was significant only for the upper posterior region (P < 0.05). The results of this follow-up study suggest that despite little variation in plaque accumulation, gingival inflammation, probing depth, and bone loss increased after a 10-year interval in patients who had received no periodontal treatment during this period.