Histopathology of initial gingivitis in humans

Abstract

The inflammatory alterations in the gingival margin during initial gingivitis were studied in 11-13 yr old human subjects. At day 0 of the experiment, all participants had clean teeth and healthy gingiva. All active oral hygiene measures were excluded for 4 days. From upper and lower premolars, which were extracted for orthodontic reasons, contralateral gingival biopsies, including the tooth and the adjacent gingiva, were obtained on days 0 and 4. The presence of inflammatory cells in the junctional epithelium and the adjacent connective tissue was determined quantitatively in semi-thin sections. The collagen content of the gingival margin was also determined. From day 0 to 4 there was only a slight increase in the number of neutrophilic granulocytes in the junctional epithelium and adjacent connective tissue, while a more pronounced increase was found in the number of mononuclear leukocytes. A loss of collagen was noticed in 4 of the subjects, while 2 did not show any changes in collagen content. The inflammatory reaction seen differs somewhat from that observed in adult humans and adult dogs. The results correspond more to the reaction seen in juvenile dogs.