Periodontal status in insulin-dependent diabetic adolescents.

A cross-sectional study was designed to evaluate the periodontal status of 85 12-18 year-old French adolescents with insulin-dependent diabetes (IDDM) and 38 healthy controls in the same age group. The clinical examination consisted of plaque control and gingival inflammation evaluation and probing attachment level. The interproximal marginal bone level was assessed with bitewing radiographs taken on the first molars and on areas presenting an attachment loss over 2 mm.

[Insulin-dependent diabetes and periodontal disease in young patients].

Periodontal disease is one of the well-documented complications of diabetes mellitus in adulthood. The effects of diabetes mellitus on periodontal tissues in children and teenagers have been studied only in more recent years. Although clinical studies have demonstrated a few cases of severe periodontal disease in patients with "historical" diabetes mellitus, in the overwhelming majority of cases periodontal lesions seem comparable in young subjects with and without diabetes mellitus.