Inter-generational continuity in periodontal health: findings from the Dunedin family history study

To determine whether parental periodontal disease history is a risk factor for periodontal disease in adult offspring.

Proband periodontal examination [combined attachment loss (CAL) at age 32, and incidence of CAL from ages 26 to 32] and interview data were collected during the age-32 assessments in the Dunedin Study. Parental data were also collected. The sample was divided into two familial-risk groups for periodontal disease (high- and low-risk) based on parents' self-reported periodontal disease.

Periodontal risk analysis involved 625 proband-parent(s) groups. After controlling for confounding factors, the high-familial-risk periodontal group was more likely to have 1+ sites with 4+mm CAL [relative risk (RR) 1.45; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.11-1.88], 2+ sites with 4+mm CAL (RR 1.45; 95% CI 1.03-2.05), 1+ sites with 5+mm CAL (RR 1.60; 95% CI 1.02-2.50), and 1+ sites with 3+mm incident CAL (RR 1.64; 95% CI 1.01-2.66) than the low-familial-risk group. Predictive validity was enhanced when information was available from both parents.

Parents with poor periodontal health tend to have offspring with poor periodontal health. Family/parental history of oral health is a valid representation of the shared genetic and environmental factors that contribute to an individual's periodontal status, and may help to predict patient prognosis and preventive treatment need.