Generalized juvenile periodontitis in a thirteen-year-old child

There have been two previous cases reported in which children with a possible history of Prepubertal Periodontitis (PP) developed Generalized Juvenile Periodontitis (GJP) in their permanent dentitions at circumpubescent ages. This paper reports a case in which an apparently healthy 13-year-old girl, whose radiographs at 6 1/2 years of age showed horizontal bone loss around the primary molars, developed GJP. Blood tests (CBC, WBC differential, fasting glucose level, serum alkaline phosphatase) and a gingival biopsy were performed to exclude possible systemic diseases that might have been associated with alveolar bone resorption. Neutrophil (PMN) chemotaxis (CX) and adhesion molecule CD11b levels were also examined. The results of these tests were all within the normal range. This case report illustrates that an apparently healthy patient with PP may develop advanced periodontitis at a circumpubescent age.