Retained "hopeless" teeth. Effects on the proximal periodontium of adjacent teeth

The retention of teeth diagnosed as periodontally "hopeless" may accelerate the destruction of the adjacent proximal periodontium. Studies determining the influence these teeth have on the health status of adjacent teeth appear nonexistent. It was the intent of this retrospective study to assess the status of the periodontium in adjacent teeth proximal to the periodontium of "hopeless" teeth. We evaluated 17 teeth, each being mesially adjacent to one "hopeless" tooth, in 17 subjects treated for periodontal disease. In each case, the "hopeless" and the adjacent teeth received the same treatment. Probing depths (P-D), radiographic alveolar bone level (R-BL) and the width of the periodontal ligament space (W-PL) were measured for both the adjacent interproximal and the nonadjacent interproximal surface for each hopeless tooth. At both pretherapy and posttherapy, there were no significant differences for any of the variables (P-D, R-BL and W-PL) for the adjacent interproximal surfaces with the nonadjacent interproximal surfaces. However, there was a significant reduction in the mean probing depth for the adjacent interproximal surfaces, pretherapy to posttherapy. No other significant changes were found in any of the other variables for either the adjacent or nonadjacent interproximal surfaces. These data suggest that teeth considered periodontally "hopeless" and retained have no effect on the proximal periodontium of adjacent teeth prior to and following therapy.