Control of Oral Disease in Naval Personnel in Isolated Operating Units.

摘要

Periodontitis, with its resultant tooth mortality, is a major dental problem in the U.S. military services. Revelstad found 80% of 2000 naval recruits had some form of gingival disease. Davies et al found that 14% of 1209 enlisted naval personnel needed extensive periodontal treatment. This research project was undertaken on the premise that knowledge of the chemical structure of the periodontal tissues, would provide a background for devising preventive procedures against periodontitis. In diseases of connective tissues, such as periodontitis, the collagen fibers are so affected as to lose their tensile strength, and at the same time become susceptible to hydrolysis by tissue proteases. A reasonable state for this project was to investigate the nature of the chemical bonds that maintain the structural and functional integrity of the collagen fibers.