Clinical course of chronic periodontitis

AIM: The purpose of this study was to assess the rate of attachment loss during various stages of adult life in a well-maintained middle-class population. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The data originated from a 26-year longitudinal study of Norwegian males who had received regular and adequate dental care and practised daily oral home care. The initial examination in 1969 included 565 individuals aged between 16 and 34 years. Subsequent examinations took place in 1971, 1973, 1975, 1981, 1988 and 1995. Thus, the study covers the age range of 16-59 years. The rate of the annual attachment loss was calculated as the difference between the individual mean attachment loss between two examinations divided by the years between examinations. The mean annualized relative risk of attachment loss was calculated as the frequency distribution of sites with initial periodontal attachment loss (loss of attachment at the first time of occurrence > or = 2 mm) and healthy sites (loss of attachment always 4 mm).