Effects of tooth loss on the periodontal condition of neighbouring teeth

The periodontal condition of 100 premolars each of which had lost the distal neighbouring tooth was compared with that of 100 contralateral teeth which had not sustained loss of neighbouring teeth. The periodontal condition was assessed by recording Plaque Index (Silness and Löe 1964), Gingival Index (Löe and Silness 1963), by measuring pocket depth according to Glavind and Löe (1967) and by measuring the distance between the cemento‐enamel junction and the bone margin. The effects of the distal tooth loss seemed to be: reduced accumulation of plaque, reduced soft tissue inflammation, reduced pocket depth and loss of bone on the distal aspects of the premolars.