Effects of proximal vertical destructions on periodontal status and healing in adjacent proximal sites with horizontal destruction.

The purpose of the study was to investigate if the presence of vertical destruction in proximal sites influences periodontal status and healing in adjacent sites in the same proximal space without vertical destruction. The investigation was conducted as a retrospective study on a 3-year consecutive referral population of periodontitis-prone patients based on full-mouth oral radiographic examinations, probing pocket depth registrations and plaque scores. The analyses were performed by using regression analyses on a final sample of 1169 (periodontal status) and 1051 (periodontal healing) proximal sites in 163 patients. The relative radiographic attachment level (RRAL) in proximal horizontal sites did not depend on the type of destruction, vertical or horizontal, in the adjacent proximal sites. However, after non-surgical treatment, pocket-depth reduction in proximal sites with horizontal destruction was significantly reduced in the presence of a vertical destruction in the adjacent proximal site compared to the corresponding sites adjacent to a horizontal defect. It was concluded that marginal periodontal healing in proximal sites with horizontal destruction is impaired by the presence of a vertical destruction in the adjacent proximal site.