Periodontal Changes After Caries Management in Preschool and School-Age Children

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of caries management on the periodontal status of preschool and school-age children. Methods: Twenty-six four- to eight-year-old children with at least one primary molar with a deep carious lesion were selected to undergo a periodontal evaluation before and six months after dental treatment. Two examiners conducted the periodontal exams using the visible plaque index (VPI) and gingival bleeding index (GBI). Longitu-dinal changes were compared using paired t-test and Fisher's test. Poisson regression models were used to investigate the variables influencing GBI (alpha=five percent). Results: There were no significant differences in the mean percentage of VPI-positive sites ( 55.8 +/- 26.9 percent to 54.5 +/- 29.8 percent; P=0.829) and GBI- positive sites (37.2 +/- 22.2 percent to 32.1 +/- 22.8 percent; P=0.222) before and after treatment. In con-trast, the mean number of GBI sites decreased from 8.5 +/- 5.03 to 6.3 +/- 4.39 (P=0.026), while the percentage of patients presenting GBI of no more than 10 percent increased from 11.5 percent to 26.9 percent over time (P=0.013). Similar analyses for VPI did not show a statistical significance. Boys (P=0.037) and six- to eight-year-old children (P=0.029) had lower reductions on GBI. Conclusion: Caries management has a positive impact on the periodontal condition of children, especially on gingival bleeding.