Periodontal Status in Post Liver Transplantation Patients – Longitudinal Comparison

Objectives: to compare current (t1) periodontal status of post liver transplantation patients to their status 10 years previously (t0). Methods: 17 post liver transplant patients (12 females, 5 males), with average age of 57.76 years, who were evaluated 10 years previously were enrolled in the study. Clinical and radiographic parameters were recorded for the Ramfjord index teeth and compared between t0 and t1, including plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI), probing depth (PD), clinical attachment level (CAL) and gingival overgrowth (GO). Bone loss was measured on digital panoramic radiographs and compared between t0 and t1. Results: Results are expressed as mean ±SD. PI, GI, CAL and GO at t0 were slightly higher than their values at t1. The difference was not significant statistically (p>0.05 ANOVA). (PI: 1.68±0.19 vs. 1.36±0.15, GI: 1.38±0.11 vs. 1.16±0.09, CAL: 3.72±0.35mm vs. 3.51±0.33 and GO: 0.85±0.19 vs. 0.83±0.17 at t0 and t1, respectively). PD was significantly higher (p=0.001 ANOVA) at t0 than t1 (3.35±0.22 mm vs. 2.43±0.18mm respectively). Radiographic bone height loss at t1 was significantly higher (p=0.025) than at t0 (5.53mm vs. 4.28mm respectively). Conclusion: Significant alveolar bone loss has occurred during 10 years. A tendency for improvement in clinical parameters was noticed after 10 years which reached statistical significance in PD values. This improvement may be due to the patients' higher medical and dental awareness as reported by the patients themselves.