A pilot study on the comparative evaluation of residual periodontal ligament in extracted teeth of chronic periodontitis patients with and without type 2 diabetes – Vital function of an occult dimension

BACKGROUND: Periodontitis is the most common type of periodontal condition, primarily affecting middle-aged people and resulting in tooth loss; when combined with diabetes, it becomes a debilitating condition. The aim of this study is to compare the residual periodontal ligament length in periodontitis patients with and without diabetes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The cross-sectional observational study was conducted in the department of periodontics over 5 months. The patients in the study were divided into two groups. Group 1 comprised patients with periodontitis without type 2 diabetes and Group 2 comprised patients with periodontitis with type 2 diabetes. A total of 100 teeth 50 from each group were collected. The teeth were stained, and the Residual Periodontal Ligament (RPL) of all tooth aspects and surfaces to a total of 544 were measured. Two points were identified for measuring the RPL. The first point was from the apex of the tooth and the second point was the highest marking of the stain. The length from these two points was recorded as the RPL. Following which, means from Groups 1 and 2 were calculated to determine the rate of destruction. The average of the values for each tooth was calculated to determine the percentage of RPL in each tooth and surface. The Mann–Whitney test was used to compare the RPL of the teeth surfaces and Group 1 and Group 2 and P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: The RPL was higher in nondiabetic patients, with a mean value of 23.66 mm, when compared to diabetic patients, with a mean RPL of 17.05 mm, implying that diabetic patients showed greater periodontal destruction. Buccal tooth surfaces displayed a mean RPL of 4.24 mm and 6.00 mm, lingual/palatal tooth surfaces with 4.02 mm and 5.91 mm, mesial tooth surfaces with 3.82 mm and 5.64 mm, and distal tooth surfaces showed 4.14 mm and 5.67 mm (diabetic and nondiabetic, respectively) with (P < 0.001) found to be statistically significant. CONCLUSION: This study observed that the destruction rate of the periodontal ligament was higher in diabetic teeth than in nondiabetic teeth, implying that patients with metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes influence the response of periodontal tissues to periodontitis and that hyperglycemia impacts the periodontal ligament either directly or indirectly.