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Aim: To examine whether a healthy diet based on nutrient recommendations is associated with periodontal condition in smokers. Material and Methods: Daily smokers from the cross-sectional Health 2000 Survey (BRIF 8901) in Finland were analysed in two age groups (30–49 and 50–79 years, n = 704 and 267) and according to the level of oral hygiene. Periodontal condition was measured as the number of sextants with gingival bleeding and teeth with ≥4 mm deepened periodontal pockets. Information on nutrition was collected by a validated food frequency questionnaire and measured using the Baltic Sea Diet Score (BSDS) and the Recommended Finnish Diet Score (RFDS). Results: In the total study population, no association between the scores and periodontal condition was observed. Among 30- to 49 year-old participants with good oral hygiene, diet scores associated inversely with the number of teeth with deepened periodontal pockets (p = .078 (BSDS) and p = .027 (RFDS)). Conclusions: In a representative sample of Finnish adults who smoke, a healthy diet was not associated with periodontal condition. Among a younger age group with good oral hygiene, a healthy diet associated with better periodontal condition. Age and oral hygiene appeared to modify the association between diet and periodontal condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was undertaken in response to a growing concern among clinicians about an increase in gingival recession among children and adolescents. Groups of 50 boys and 50 girls aged respectively 7, 12, and 17 yr were examined at Espoo Health Centre in 1983. Gingival recession was measured on the facial and lingual aspects of all permanent teeth. Whenever the gingival margin was located on root cementum, the distance from the gingival margin to the enamel border was measured to the nearest 0.5 mm. Recession was categorized as "slight" (0.5 or 1 mm) or "extensive" (1.5-3.5 mm). The prevalence of gingival recession was 5% at 7 yr, 39% at 12 yr, and 74% at 17 yr of age. More girls than boys had recession in the two youngest age groups. At 17 yr recession was equally common in both sexes and both "slight" and "extensive" recession was most often recorded on facial surfaces of first molars, premolars and canines. The alarmingly high prevalence of gingival recession at young age warrants further study of both the reasons and the consequences of early cementum exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present investigation, the frequency and severity of periodontal disease was assessed in a group of patients with multiple sclerosis receiving corticosteroid hormone therapy for neurological disease. Age-matched patients with multiple sclerosis but without hormone therapy as well as healthy subjects served as controls. Individuals suffering from multiple sclerosis or polyneuropathies were selected from a pool of patients who were under treatment at the Department of Neurology, The Central Hospital of Kuopio, Finland. 23 individuals were identified who had received more than 1.5 g prednisone over a 1-4 year period. The average amount of steroid given to these patients was 3.5 g. 26 individuals also suffering from neurologic disease had received no or only negligable amounts of hormone therapy and were used as diseased controls. Another control group comprised age- and sex-matched healthy individuals from the city of Kuopio. The dental examination which was performed by one dentist comprised assessments of the following parameters: oral hygiene status, gingival conditions, probing depth, gingival recession and height of the alveolar bone. The findings clearly demonstrated that patients with neurological disease who received corticosteroid therapy had the same frequency of gingivitis as non-treated diseased controls. Furthermore, data describing probing depth, gingival recession and height of the alveolar bone revealed that there was no difference regarding the frequency and severity of periodontal disease between the 2 groups of neurological diseased patients. It was concluded that corticosteroid therapy maintained over 1-4 years had no obvious influence on clinical parameters of periodontal disease in patients suffering from neurological disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]