Date of Award

Summer 1970

Document Type

Thesis - Restricted

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Dentistry

First Advisor

Foshager, Vernon

Second Advisor

Davies, Ernest

Third Advisor

Brown, Russell

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to evaluate gingival stippling in the adult male. The appearance of stippling has been routinely designated as a sign of gingival health. And the loss of stippling has been designated as a sign of gingival disease. The transition from stippled gingiva to non-stippled gingiva is usually explained in terms of edema and loss of connective tissue integrity. However, specific mechanisms for these changes are rarely found in textbooks and/or the dental literature. This study has been designated to provide further elucidation into the histologic picture of stippled gingival epithelium. Through a review of the literature, a cytochemical explanation for the loss of gingival stippling will be discussed and evaluated. Finally, with the aid of the Ramfjord index to periodontal disease, a survey of one hundred cases of gingival stippling in the adult male will be correlated with the patient's periodontal health status. The results of this study may provide a more thorough understanding of the histologic picture of gingival stippling as well as the relationship of gingival stippling to gingival health and disease.

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