THE INFLUENCE OF INJURY TO THE PERIODONTAL MEMBRANE ON THE SPREAD OF GINGIVAL INFLAMMATION

¹ Division of Oral Pathology and Department of Histology, University of Illinois, College of Dentistry, Chicago, Ill.

The progress of gingivitis of local origin into the periodontal membrane damaged during tooth movement was studied in serial histologic sections of the molar teeth and supporting tissues of thirty-five male young adult rats of the Sprague-Dawley strain. Tooth movement was induced by the insertion of a piece of rubber dam between the upper right first and second molars. The rubber dam acted also as a foreign body and caused papillary (interdental) gingivitis, characterized by massive leukocytic infiltration that later spread into the deeper supporting tissues, thus producing a periodontitis. The rubber dam was allowed to remain in place from one to seventy-two hours.

The histologic findings were:

1. In the first twelve hours, compression of the gingival papilla and mild inflammation immediately beneath the gingival epithelium were observed. In a few cases, the inflammation extended into the deeper layers of the connective tissue close to the alveolar crest.

2. Between twenty-four and seventy-two hours, the gingivitis increased in severity and progressed into periodontitis. The inflammation spread directly into the periodontal membrane injured by tension on both sides of the interdental septum between the first and second molars. However, the inflammatory cells infiltrated deeper into the more severely damaged periodontal membrane of the first molar. Inflammation also extended mesially into the lingual margin and attached gingiva, reaching the septum between the distolingual and intermediolingual roots of the first molar. From here it spread into the periodontal membrane of the intermediolingual root. On the corresponding buccal side, however, the inflammation remained confined to the papilla, and the periodonal membrane of the intermediobuccal root remained free of inflammatory cells.

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