Gingival Inflammation and Fluid Dynamics of Children Undergoing Dialysis Treatment

OBJECTIVES: There are limited number of researches that denote the periodontal changes in patients with chronic renal disease and/or failure. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the fluid dynamics of gingiva in this entity correlating with gingival inflammation. MATERIAL-METHODS: Fifteen children undergoing renal dialysis (test) and 15 children without renal and systemic involvement (control) were included in the study. Gingival fluid dynamics were measured with gingival crevicular fluid volumes (via Periotron® 8000) and osmotic pressures of gingival biopsies (via Osmometer). Gingival inflammation and/or health were assessed with Silness-Löe plaque index and Löe-Silness gingival index. All the measurements were performed after establishing a standart and sufficient oral hygiene status within the both groups. The data were analysed by Mann- Whitney-U and Studen- t tests. RESULTS: The mean gingival crevicular fluid volume, gingival osmotic pressure, plaque and gingival scores were significantly higher in the test group compared with the control group (p<0,001; p<0,01; p<0,001). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that chronic renal disease and/or failure may alter the fluid dynamics of gingiva subsequently affecting gingival inflammation.