title: Clinical and microbiologic study of periodontitis associated with Kindler syndrome.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Little is known about the onset and prevalence of periodontal disease in patients with the rare Kindler syndrome, a genodermatological disorder. This study investigated the level of clinical periodontal attachment in relation to age and presence of putative periodontopathogenic bacteria in individuals with Kindler syndrome.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eighteen individuals diagnosed with Kindler syndrome and 13 control subjects, aged 4 to 37 years, from rural Panama received a limited clinical periodontal examination. Subgingival samples were collected for identification of putative periodontal pathogens by polymerase chain reaction.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mild to severe gingivitis was a common finding in all adults of the study population. Seventy-two percent (13/18) of the Kindler patients and 46% (6/13) of the control subjects showed mild to severe periodontal disease (P = 0.001, chi-square test). The onset of periodontitis was earlier and the progression occurred at a faster rate in the Kindler group. There was a strong correlation (r = 0.83) between the level of attachment loss and age in the Kindler group and a weaker correlation (r = 0.66) in the control group. The appearance of gingival tissues suggested atypical periodontitis with spontaneous bleeding and fragile, often desquamative, gingiva. In periodontitis patients, Porphyromonas gingivallis and Diallster pneumosintes tended to occur more frequently in control individuals compared to those with Kindler syndrome.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In the Kindler group, periodontitis had an onset in early teenage years and progressed more rapidly compared to non-Kindler individuals of the same geographic and ethnic group. Clinical and microbiological findings suggest atypical periodontitis in Kindler patients. We propose to include Kindler syndrome in the category of medical disorders predisposing to destructive periodontal disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Biological & Medical Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC. cwiebe@interchange.ubc.ca
authors.forename: Colin B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Wiebe
authors.forename: Homero
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Penagos
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Luong
authors.forename: Jørgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Slots
authors.forename: Ervin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Epstein
authors.forename: Dawn
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Siegel
authors.forename: Lari
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Häkkinen
authors.forename: Edward E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Putnins
authors.forename: Hannu S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Larjava
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D017668:Age of Onset; D000368:Aged; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D018450:Disease Progression; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D004820:Epidermolysis Bullosa / Q000150:complications / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D005884:Gingival Hemorrhage / Q000150:complications; D005891:Gingivitis / Q000150:complications; D016965:Gram-Negative Anaerobic Straight, Curved, and Helical Rods / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010176:Panama; D017622:Periodontal Attachment Loss / Q000150:complications; D010518:Periodontitis / Q000150:complications* / Q000382:microbiology; D016966:Porphyromonas gingivalis / Q000302:isolation & purification; D011038:Rothmund-Thomson Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000382:microbiology; D012423:Rural Health; D012872:Skin Diseases, Vesiculobullous / Q000150:complications* / Q000382:microbiology; D013577:Syndrome