Periodontal disease in mothers indicates risk in their children ENE-RENATE PA ¨ HKLA 1 , EERIK JO ˜ GI 2 , ALLAN NURK 2 , HETI PISAREV 3 , TAIVE KOPPEL 1 , PAUL NAABER 4,5,6 , MARE SAAG 1 & KRISTA LO ˜ IVUKENE 4 1 Department of Stomatology, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia, 2 Institute of Technology, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia, 3 Department of Public Health, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia, 4 Department of Clinical Microbiology, United Laboratories of Tartu University Clinics, Tartu, Estonia, 5 Department of Microbiology, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia, and 6 Department of Medical Microbiology, Stavanger University Hospital, Stavanger, Norway International Journal of Paediatric Dentistry 2010; 20: 24–30 Introduction. It is well established that severe per- iodontitis clusters in families, but there are no data about the relationship between mothers with chronic periodontitis and their children’s period- ontal status. Objective. To evaluate a risk for periodontal dis- eases in children of periodontally diseased and healthy mothers. Methods. Four study groups were included: (I) 20 female patients with untreated generalized severe chronic periodontitis, (II) their children (34), (III) 13 periodontally healthy mothers and (IV) their children (13). Material was collected from years 2004–2006. The clinical examination included registration of visible plaque index, modified gin- gival index and, bleeding sites on probing. Period- ontal microbiological samples were obtained from all study subjects and the isolates were identified according to morphology and biochemical profiles; similar interfamilial pathogens were compared by PCR-technique. Results. The children of diseased mothers more fre- quently had periodontal diseases, especially gingivi- tis. In addition, clinical parameters of gingival inflammation were more expressed and oral hygiene was worse in this group of children. VPI and VPI% of the diseased and healthy mothers differed significantly. The most common oral pathogens were P. intermedia ⁄ nigrescens and A. acti- nomycetemcomitans. The children of healthy mothers harboured pathogens less frequently than the children of diseased mothers. The sharing of P. intermedia ⁄ nigrescens was more frequent (5 families) than A. actinomycetemcomitans (2 families). Conclusion. Maternal indicators, such as period- ontitis, hygiene habits, and periodontal microflora are risk factors for childhood periodontal diseases, and might be predictive of future childhood and adolescent periodontitis. Introduction Periodontitis is a chronic inflammation of the periodontium that results in periodontal tis- sue destruction and alveolar bone loss. Tissue destruction occurs as a consequence of the host’s attempt to eliminate bacteria from the gingival sulcus by evoking an immunoinflam- matory response. Left untreated, it may lead to complete loss of dental attachment struc- tures, and subsequent loss of teeth. A number of different forms of periodontal disease can present in children and adults 1 . The exact cause of each of these disease forms is still unclear but is likely to be influenced by the composition of the periodontal micro- biota and the competency of the host response. Environmental and genetic factors will also influence the balance between the two opposing factions, microbe and host 2 . Although the most important pathogens are well-known in the literature (e.g., Prevotella intermedia ⁄ nigrescens, Micromonas micros and Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans), the spec- trum of pathogens may vary. Different spec- trums of pathogens have been associated with different forms of periodontal disease 3,4 . Also, the distribution of periodontal microbes varies according to geography and region, as well as age and socio-economic status 5–9 . Among different populations, the presence of the pathogens may be more reflective of the local environment; conversely, the presence of suspected pathogens may not be strictly related to the disease 10,11 . Correspondence to: Ene-Renate Pa ¨ hkla, Department of Stomatology University of Tartu, Raekoja plats 6, 51003 Tartu, Estonia. E-mail: ene.renate.pahkla@gmail.com Ó 2009 The Authors 24 Journal compilation Ó 2009 BSPD, IAPD and Blackwell Publishing Ltd DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-263X.2009.01027.x