Periodontitis and alveolar resorption in human skeletal remains: The relationship between quantitative alveolar bone loss, occlusal wear, antemortem tooth loss, dental calculus and age at death in a low socioeconomic status, modern forensic human collection from Yucatan.

OBJECTIVE: This paper assesses the relationship between the distance between the cemento-enamel junction and alveolar crest and risk factors commonly associated with periodontitis.

MATERIALS: Eighty individuals between 28 and 92 years old with known biological sex and age were analyzed from a 20th century forensic human collection from Merida, Yucatan (Mexico).

METHODS: Macroscopic assessment, along with metric analysis, was employed using a probe.

RESULTS: Ante-mortem tooth loss was positively correlated with the distance between the cemento-enamel junction and alveolar crest, as was the presence of root calculus in females.

CONCLUSIONS: Cemento-enamel junction to alveolar crest distance is not a reliable indicator of periodontitis since it is not directly related to periodontitis-causing infectious pathogens, and since ante-mortem tooth loss can affect root exposure.

SIGNIFICANCE: This study demonstrates that a purely quantitative approach to diagnosing periodontitis in archaeological and forensic human remains can be misleading.

LIMITATIONS: The skeletal collection is only representative of the low socioeconomic class of Merida, and its female cohort is underrepresented. In addition, because the Xoclan collection is modern, limitations (particularly with respect to tooth wear) of the applicability of these interpretations to older archaeological remains exist.

SUGGESTION FOR FURTHER RESEARCH: A combination of quantitative and qualitative characteristics of alveolar bone is needed to reliably diagnose periodontitis in skeletal populations.