[Juvenile periodontitis (microbiology--immunology)]

Juvenile periodontitis is a destructive periodontal disease with young healthy individuals at the age 15-18. Main causative factor is the strain Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans (Aa) and is characterized by the rapid periodontal destruction of the incisors and 1st molars in the upper and lower jaw. In this paper is presented the current concepts of the microbiology and immunology of tis disease. However the comparison of the microbiological and immunological picture of juvenile periodontitis to those of the different types of the same disease as well as of the corresponding picture of the adult periodontitis seems to be important in order for the dentists to understand and explain those suffering from juvenile periodontitis. Furthermore, it is concluded that the earliest the diagnosis the better the results of the treatment.