Clinical and microbial considerations for the treatment of an extended kindred with seven cases of prepubertal periodontitis: a 2-year follow-up.

D estructive forms of periodontal diseases may have an early onset in the primary dentition. 1-~ Two types of prepubertal periodontitis (PP) have been described:1 a) generalized prepubertal periodontitis (GPP), which is characterized by severe gingival inflammation, gingival tissue proliferation, gingival recession, and a widespread and rapid destruction of the alveolar bone and b) localized prepubertal periodontitis (LPP), which may be clinically inconspicuous, but alveolar bone loss (ABL) at one or more primary teeth is disclosed by radiographic examination. Periodontitis has been reported to affect siblings and their parents, ~ and the present manuscript describes two branches of an extended kindred (Fig 1), in which seven children (siblings and cousins) were affected with PP, and one parent had evidence of localized early onset periodontitis. The clinical and microbial considerations for the different treatment plans of the children, and the outcome of the treatments during a 2-year period are presented.