Rapidly Advancing Periodontitis in a Patient With Sarcoidosis: A Case Report

A brief review of sarcoidosis is presented. It is a multisystem granulomatous disease of unknown etiology. Typically the sarcoidosis patient manifests depressed T-cell function but has hyperactive B-cells. This case report deals with a 27-year old black female who was diagnosed as having sarcoidosis. Prior to the onset of the disease, radiographs taken of her periodontium revealed incipient alveolar bone loss. Two years after the apparent onset of the sarcoidosis, periapical radiographs manifested advanced destruction of the alveolar bone. In addition to the usual clinical indices, the effect of the patient's serum on cultures of normal PMNs and Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans (A. a.) was studied. The serum from this patient inhibited the leukotoxic effect of the (A. a.) organism. A similar effect has been observed in juvenile patients with rapidly advancing periodontitis.