Prevalence and natural history of periodontal disease in Scotland – The mediaeval period (900–1600 A. D.)

The periodontal status of a Scottish medieval population was studied. No individual over the age of 11 years had an entirely healthy periodontium. While gingivitis was widespread in the younger age groups, it was essentially a "contained" gingivitis which appeared to progress towards a periodontitis at a fairly constant but slow rate. The pattern of prevalence and distribution of gingivitis and periodontitis was similar to many modern epidemiological studies on natural dentitions but did not support the view that the prevalence of periodontitis in historic material was high. A small proportion of individuals appeared to be either susceptible or resistant to periodontal disease. It was concluded that the study of historic material provides valuable information with regard to the natural history of human periodontal disease.