Clinical profiles of individuals with and without root surface caries

As part of a collaborative multidisciplinary investigation of root surface caries (RSC), 273 subjects (median age = 57) were clinically evaluated for coronal caries, debris, calculus, gingivitis, periodontal pocketing, recession, abrasion, as well as RSC. The entire study group was divided into three subgroups: (1) subjects whose exposed root surface were without lesions or restorations (non-diseased individuals, n = 43); (2) subjects whose exposed root surfaces had one or more lesions and may or may not have had restorations (diseased individuals, n = 110); (3) subjects with one or more restorations but no lesions, since it was not known whether these restorations were preceded by RSC or abrasion the disease status of these individuals was unclear (n = 120). A comparison of Subgroup 1 (unequivocally non-diseased) and Subgroup 2 (unequivocally diseased) revealed that subjects without RSC had more teeth, less coronal caries, less recession, less debris, less calculus, less gingivitis, and more abrasion. We infer that the common factor underlying most if not all of the subgroup differences is oral hygiene which must therefore be a major disease determinant.