Periodontal health condition in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

OBJECTIVE

To compare periodontal health status in individuals with and without Alzheimer's disease (AD).

METHODS

A total of 58 individuals with AD and 60 cognitively normal (ND) adult individuals, ranging in age from 50 to 80 years, were assessed for periodontal health status. Individuals with AD were further divided as mild, moderate, and severe, based on degree of cognitive impairment as evaluated using Mini-Mental State Examination. Gingival index (GI), plaque index (PI), probing depth (PD), clinical attachment level (CAL), and percentage of bleeding sites (%BOP) were evaluated.

RESULTS

All the evaluated periodontal parameters were higher in individuals with AD than that in ND individuals, and the periodontal status deteriorated with the progression of AD. There were significant differences in mean GI, PI, PD, CAL, and %BOP between all the groups.

CONCLUSION

The periodontal health status of individuals with AD deteriorates with disease progression and was closely related to their cognitive function.