Prevalence and distribution of alveolar bone loss in a population of 15-year-old schoolchildren.

Abstract

Abstract The prevalence and distribution of bone loss, as assessed by the measurement of loss of attachment, was determined in a group of 15‐year‐old schoolchildren living in an industrial area in the North‐West of England. A total of 46% of the population had loss of attachment ≥ 1 mm, including 11% who had loss of attachment ≥ 2 mm, on at least one tooth. Children of West Indian or Indo‐Pakistani origin were most severely affected. Among children of European origin, those attending non‐grammar schools showed the higher prevalence. Diagnostic criteria may explain some of the differences between this and previous reports on British teenage populations. The presence of early destructive periodontal disease may represent a useful measure of the need for periodontal treatment in such populations.