Aggressive periodontitis in a Nigerian teaching hospital

These case series were aimed at highlighting late presentations of aggressive periodontitis (AP) in a teaching hospital as well as proffering possible reasons for such presentations which would serve as part of the solution to prevent such presentations in the future.

Aggressive periodontitis is a severe form of destructive periodontitis traditionally believed to present around puberty. However, many cases seen in a teaching hospital presented much later for yet-to-be explained reasons.

Seven patients referred to the specialist periodontal clinic of a Nigerian teaching hospital presented with clinical features consistent with AP. Most of the patients were over twenty and some over thirty years of age.

Aggressive periodontitis patients seen in our center were often outside the traditional age brackets. The range of treatment options available to the patients were under-utilized due to serious financial constraints.

Aggressive periodontitis comes with serious psychological challenges and severe morbidity. Prompt diagnosis and effective management hold the key to success It is important to investigate why many of the cases seen in our center presented that late. Could be due to ignorance and poverty or could be due to failure of dentists recognize these cases and consequent misdiagnosis? Further studies are needed to answer these questions.