Periodontal disease progression in type II non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus patients (NIDDM). Part I--Probing pocket depth and clinical attachment.

Periodontal disease progression of 30 type II diabetic patients (NIDDM) and 30 patients in whom diabetes was not detected was evaluated. Age ranged from 30 to 77 years. To determine the periodontal condition, probing pocket depth and periodontal attachment loss were measured; to determine the metabolic control of the patients, glycosylated hemoglobin and fasting glucose were measured. At the end of the study, the diabetic group was divided into three subgroups, according to the metabolic state of the patients: controlled patients, moderately controlled patients, and poorly controlled patients. Comparing the diabetic and the control groups as a whole, there was no statistically significant difference in probing pocket depth, but significance (P < 0.01) was observed for attachment loss. When diabetic patients were divided into subgroups, significant differences were observed between the poorly controlled and the control groups (P < 0.01) for both the probing pocket depth and periodontal attachment. The glycosylated hemoglobin test was more reliable than the fasting glucose analysis.