Puberty gingivitis in insulin-dependent diabetic children. I. Cross-sectional observations.

This cross-sectional study examined the gingivitis occurring at puberty in a population of insulin-dependent juvenile diabetics. Seventy-seven children between the ages of 6 and 15 years were examined for gingivitis levels, stages of pubertal maturation and blood levels of glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin. Bacterial plaque was sampled from one or more approximal tooth surfaces of every subject and cultured under anaerobic and aerobic conditions on nonselective and selective media. The total cultivable flora and percentage of certain presumptive periodontopathic bacteria were determined. Before puberty, children with "high" levels of glycosylated hemoglobin also had higher gingivitis levels than children with "normal" metabolic control of diabetes. During puberty, the level of gingivitis increased independently from both fasting blood glucose levels and per cent glycosylated hemoglobin. The microbiota of marginal plaque was predominantly composed of facultatively anaerobic bacteria. The percentages of Capnocytophaga sp and Actinomyces naeslundii were statistically higher at the onset of puberty, suggesting that a specific bacterial shift in the microbial composition of marginal plaque occurs in response to host changes in juvenile diabetic children at this age period.