A 10-year study of the progression of destructive periodontal disease in adult and elderly Chinese.

This study describes the progression of destructive periodontal disease among Chinese aged 20 to 80 with limited access to dental health facilities and minimal traditions for oral hygiene procedures. These individuals were followed for 10 years to determine whether the rates for progression of periodontal disease were markedly different than for populations with more access to oral health care. At baseline, participants had been examined for tooth mobility, plaque, calculus, gingival conditions, attachment levels, and probing depths on 4 sites of each tooth present. These probing depth and attachment level recordings were repeated at follow-up, although third molars were excluded from examination. A total of 398 persons remained dentate at follow-up. The analysis demonstrated that virtually all subjects experienced > or = 2 mm attachment loss over the 10-year period, and frequently in a large proportion of the sites present. Attachment loss > or = 3 mm was also widespread, but the distribution of persons according to the extent of > or = 3 mm attachment loss was positively skewed in all age groups. Positive skewness was even more pronounced when attachment loss of > or = 4 mm was considered. Some types of teeth, such as mandibular incisors and maxillary molars, had higher progression rates than did, for example, maxillary incisors. The mean individual attachment loss rates did not differ significantly between age groups, and were remarkably similar to those reported for populations whose access to and tradition for oral health care is widespread.