Periodontal Treatment of Medically Compromised Patients

With the recent advances in medicine over the past few decades, many children who would have not made it past in infancy are now living into adult age. At the other end of the spectrum, there are a rapidly growing number of people with greatly increased life span. For this reason, many patients seeking dental care have significant medical conditions that may alter both the course of their oral disease and the therapy provided. Patients may have conditions which require medical consultation prior to dental treatment and systemic conditions which do not require consultation, but which could alter therapy. The diversity of approaches and the complexity of medical conditions make periodontal treatment modalities an exciting and interesting field to work. Moreover, it is the therapeutic responsibility of the clinician to identify the patient¿s medical problems and formulate proper treatment plans. Hence, an attempt has been made at reviewing literature regarding common medical conditions and associated periodontal management.