The effect of social class on periodontal condition and treatment needs of 13-15 year old students in Mosul city - Ninevah : Iraq

Abstract

This study was carried out on 900 intermediate school students aged 13-15 years from high, middle and low socioeconomic classes in the center city of Mosul in order to determine the prevalence of periodontal disease and treatment need with the three different socioeconomic levels. The CPITN (Community Periodontal Index of Treatment Needs) was used to asses the periodontal condition and treatment needs. The results showed that the disease was prevalent in 97.6% of the sample, with a slight higher percentage of students with healthy gingiva in high social class group compared to middle and low class (4%, 2% and 1.3%) respectively, but with no statistically significant difference between them. The result indicated that there was statistically significant difference in the mean number of healthy Sextants in the three groups (1.78, 1.32 and 0.91) for high, middle and low class respectively. Results also revealed a significant a healthier gingiva in females compared to males (1.55 for females and 1.12 for males). The periodontal treatment needs for the students were massive with no significant difference between the three socioeconomic level, while there are statistically significant differences between males and females,as more tales need prophylactic scaling and polishing compared to females.