Response of chronic and aggressive periodontitis to treatment.

Patients with aggressive periodontitis can be both rewarding and frustrating to treat in clinical practice. Interindividual variation in response to therapy can be widespread, and we do not clearly understand the reasons for this variable response. It is possible that new research into the resolution of inflammation may reveal basic differences between patients with chronic periodontitis and those with aggressive disease. In addition, future research involving modulation of host inflammatory responses may clarify the reasons for the differences in clinical outcomes between patients. We think it likely that this research could result in further alterations to the classification of periodontal diseases, as with more knowledge of the mechanisms of disease it is possible that patients currently classified as having aggressive periodontitis may be found not to represent a single diagnostic entity. Better understanding of the true nature of patients currently identified as having aggressive periodontitis may therefore lead to more effective treatment approaches.