Aggressive Periodontitis: a Diagnostic Dilemma

BACKGROUND: Aggressive periodontitis (AgP) by definition is a group of rare, very destructive forms of periodontitis, usually manifests itself at an early age and shows a marked tendency to aggregate in families. A variety of factors, such as microbial, environmental and behavioral have been suggested as risk factors of Aggressive periodontitis. METHODS: Ten cases with clinical and radiological features suggestive of Aggressive Periodontitis are discussed in this paper. In two cases, anaerobic microbial analysis was carried out and a PCR was done. RESULTS: Out of the 10 cases, only 2 cases could be supported with a microbial evaluation. The remaining 8 cases were clinically and radiologically suggestive of Aggressive Periodontitis. CONCLUSION: Aggressive Periodontitis is a rare but severe form of periodontitis and it is important to distinguish it from a more common form, Chronic Periodontitis. Despite well-defined criteria laid down for classifying these conditions, practical application of the same is not feasible in all cases. More research is needed to find simpler diagnostic tools to distinguish and diagnose Aggressive Periodontitis. Author Affiliations: 1,2 Dept of Dental Surgery, Armed Forces Medical College, Pune 411040