Periodontal Disease in Children and Adolescents: A masked Reality!

We know that gingivitis is a common finding in the adult population as well as in the young one. Early studies already showed gingivitis affects anywhere from 40 to 60% of school-children in the United States [1], although higher percentages have been reported as well, up to 70% in children older than seven years of age [2]. Thus, gingivitis is a common disease among young individuals. The problem is when gingivitis persists for too long and in certain individuals it becomes more than just marginal inflammation. Unfortunately, who will develop periodontitis is still something we cannot predict. However, periodontal disease is one of the two most important oral diseases contributing to the global burden of chronic diseases [3] and we do know that periodontal disease affects one in every two North-Americans, according to the most recent literature [4]. Chronic periodontal disease may affect up to 24% of children, whereas aggressive periodontitis is less frequent, affecting less than 1% of North-Americans and up to 2.9% of African-Americans [5]. Unfortunately, early signs of chronic or aggressive diseases are actually very difficult to diagnose, as seen in (Figures 1a-1c).