Diabete Mellito e Rischio Parodontale. Un Caso Clinico Paradigmatico.

This article describes the potential impact of periodontal therapy on periodontal prognosis and diabetic status by reporting a case of a patient affected by type I diabetes treated both by non-surgical and surgical therapy because of a generalized aggressive periodontitis. The prognosis modifications induced by periodontal therapy are analysed in terms of individual risk reduction for periodontitis, calculated by means of a method recently proposed by the Authors. At the end of the therapy a drastic reduction of the risk of disease progression was observed. The present paper supports the need to include objective methods of risk assessment in periodontal practice in order to establish the need of preventive and therapeutic measures and the importance of controlling serum glycosylated haemoglobin level in diabetic patients, as it is involved in the reaction to periodontal therapy and in periodontitis relapse.