Periodontal disease in primary Sjögren's syndrome.

UNLABELLED

Occurrence of periodontal disease in Sjögrens's syndrome (SS) is still controversial.

OBJECTIVE

To examine if the risk of gingival and periodontal conditions was increased in SS compared to the general population.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Fifty-seven patients (4 men, 53 women) with primary Sjögren's syndrome (Copenhagen criteria) and an age-matched representative sample of the general population of 80 controls (all women) were examined for gingival and periodontal disease.

RESULTS

Gingival bleeding and supra-gingival calculus did not differ among SS patients and controls. Subgingival calculus occurred more often among the younger SS patients than controls, but did not differ among the older SS patients and controls. Periodontal pockets of 4-5 mm as well as pockets > 5 mm occurred with similar prevalences among the two groups. Smoking habits did not influence the results. The health status of the gingival and periodontal tissues were thus similar in SS and controls.

CONCLUSION

Primary SS is not associated with increased risk of periodontal disease.