1 Department of Pedodontics, University of Kentucky, Medical Center, Lexington, Kentucky 40506
2 Department of Behavioral Sciences, University of Kentucky, Medical Center, Lexington, Kentucky 40506
3 Department of Pediatrics, University of Kentucky, Medical Center, Lexington, Kentucky 40506
Photographs were made of the mandibular labial alveolar mucosae of 21 diabetic and 27 nondiabetic children. Each photograph was rated four times (twice by two dentists) on a 4 point scale. A rating of 1 represented the normal vascular pattern; patterns 2 to 4 suggested progressively abnormal vascularity. Statistical analysis revealed an overall difference in the ratings of the diabetics and nondiabetics that was significant at the p .02 level, indicating that deviations from the normal alveolar vascular pattern were more common among diabetic children than among nondiabetic children.