Periodontal breakdown inter-tooth relationships in estimating periodontitis-related tooth loss.

Abstract Objectives The reasons for tooth extraction are rarely recorded in epidemiological datasets. It poses a diagnostic challenge to determine if tooth loss is related to periodontal disease (TLPD). The present study aimed to assess the inter-tooth relationships based on the periodontal characteristics of existing teeth. Methods A cross-sectional dataset of 8,978 participants with complete periodontal examination (including probing pocket depth [PPD] and clinical attachment loss [CAL]) in the NHANES 2009–2014 was used in this study. Spearman rank correlation was applied to assess the inter-tooth correlations of PPD/CAL among 28 teeth after adjustment for relevant confounders. We further verify our findings in the Java Project on Periodontal Disease with TLPD information available (the number of TLPD = 12). Results Strong PPD/CAL correlations were observed in adjacent teeth (r for PPD = 0.652, r for CAL = 0.597; false discovery rate [FDR] Conclusion The periodontitis parameters (PPD/CAL) of adjacent teeth could be a potential indicator to estimate TLPD when actual reasons for tooth extraction are unknown. Clinical Significance Periodontally compromised teeth adjacent to a lost tooth may help estimate whether the loss could be related to periodontal disease when the actual extraction reasons are unknown.