Assessment of Oral Health Status among Medical Students in Georgia

Abstract

Oral health is considered as important part of general health. Dental caries and periodon-tal diseases are among most prevalent diseases worldwide. According to WHO oral dis-eases affect nearly 3.5 billion people and untreated dental caries is the most common health condition. Young adults may neglect oral health. The aim of our study was to eval-uate oral health status (dental caries and periodontal diseases) among medical students at European University affiliated dental clinics in Georgia. Simple random sampling method was used. Assessment was conducted using modified WHO Oral Health Assessment Form (2013). Study sample were medical undergraduate students aged between 17 and 25 years at the European University - affiliated dental clinics, Tbilisi, Georgia. Level of dental caries was evaluated by assessment of decayed, missing, and filled teeth scores (DMFT in-dex), while periodontal status was assessed using Community Periodontal Index (CPI) modified index. Statistical analysis of data was performed. Results: Totally 225 students (150 males and 75 females) originally from Georgia, Jordan, Iran, Egypt, Great Britain and Sweden were included in the study. Mean age of participants was 20.7 years. Mean DMFT score in males was 3.11 and in females it was 3.25; overall mean DMFT was 3.18. Percentage of all individuals in two groups with dental caries (DFT ≥ 1) was 84%. Mean CPI index was 0.82 in males and 0.75 in females. Mean DMFT were compared to National estimates for DMFT index for same age group in developed coun-tries. Conclusion: Study showed medium prevalence of caries and low prevalence of periodontal diseases in participant students. Keywords: Oral health, DMFT index, CPI index