Periodontics · patient case question
All of the following are risk factors for periodontal disease EXCEPT:
Patient case: Analgesia, periodontal risk and ectodermal dysplasia
Scenario: Three items.
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. Asthma
- A. Diabetes is one of the strongest and best-documented risk factors, with a bidirectional relationship — periodontitis also worsens glycaemic control.
- B. HIV is a genuine risk factor. Immunosuppression predisposes to necrotising periodontal diseases and accelerated attachment loss.
- C. Smoking is the single most important modifiable risk factor, and it also masks bleeding on probing, hiding disease from both patient and clinician.
- D. Correct — this is the exception. Asthma is not an established periodontal risk factor. Inhaled corticosteroids raise candidiasis risk and beta-agonists can dry the mouth, but neither makes asthma itself a risk factor for periodontitis.