Prevalence of aggressive periodontitis among Yemeni students from schools in the city of Thamar

Abstract

Introduction and objective: Aggressive periodontitis (AgP) is a type of periodontitis that causes rapid destruction of alveolar bone, especially in young ages. In Yemen, there is no previous study about aggressive periodontitis, so the aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and related risk factors for aggressive periodontitis among school students in the city of Thamar. Material and methods: In this study, a two-stage sampling method was used. At first stage, a random sample of eight public schools was selected from the schools of the city of Thamar by simple random sampling. In the second stage, a sample of 807 students (458 female and 349 male) was drawn from the chosen schools by simple random sampling. People aged from 10 to 22, with mean age of 17. The classification considered in the current paper was based on the American Academy of Periodontology classification of 1999. A questionnaire was applied and included questions that would give information about the risk factors that might be considered causal factors for aggressive periodontitis. Results: The number of affected students with AgP was 29 among 807 students, that is, 3.6% of the sample. The percentages of localized aggressive periodontitis (LAgP) and generalized aggressive periodontitis (GAgP) were, respectively, 2.6% (21 students) and 1.0% (8 students). The following teeth were found to be affected: first molars, second molars, incisors, first premolars and second premolars. In GAgP, 20 first molars, 22 incisors, 6 first premolars, 3 second molars and 2 second premolars showed clinical attachment loss. But in LAgP, 18 first molars, 19 incisors, 6 first premolars, 3 second molars and 2 second premolars showed clinical attachment loss. With regards to the risk factors – socioeconomic level, age, poor oral hygiene status, plaque index and gingival bleeding –, the statistical results indicated that each of these factors showed highly significant relationships with AgP. Conclusion: The prevalence of AgP among Yemeni schools students was relatively high: 3.6%. This might be related to the low socioeconomic level and poor oral hygiene status of most of the Yemeni students.