Higher Plaque Index Scores Research Articles

Effect of supragingival plaque control on recurrent periodontitis and clinical stability among individuals under periodontal maintenance therapy: 10-year follow-up.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of supragingival plaque control on the recurrence of periodontitis (RP) and the achievement of a stable periodontal clinical endpoint after 10years of periodontal maintenance therapy (PMT). The present retrospective cohort study included 225 individuals in continuous PMT. The plaque index (PI) determining the oral hygiene (OH) status, periodontal clinical parameters, and other variables of interest were collected at three time points: T1 (prior to active periodontal therapy [APT]), T2 (after APT), and T3 (10years after T2). According to PI records at T3, participants were categorized into: (1) good OH (GOH; PI≤30%, n=63); (2) fair OH (FOH; PI>30% and ≤40%, n=73); and (3) poor OH (POH; PI>40%, n=88). Data were analyzed using the chi-square and Student t tests, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and mediation and regression analyses. Significant differences in all periodontal clinical parameters between the GOH, FOH, and POH groups were observed at T3. The POH group exhibited higher mean bleeding on probing (BOP), periodontal probing depth (PD), and clinical attachment level (CAL), as well as higher tooth loss (POH>FOH>GOH; P<.001). There was an increased risk for RP in the FOH (odds ratio [OR] 2.02; CI, 1.10-4.38) and POH (OR 4.33; CI, 2.17-8.65) groups. Moreover, the FOH and POH groups had an approximately 2.5 and 6.0 times greater chance of not achieving a stable periodontal clinical endpoint, respectively. After 10years of monitoring in PMT, individuals with higher PI scores (>30%) presented an unhealthier periodontal status, a higher risk for RP, and a lower chance of achieving ≤4 sites with PD≥5mm.

Association between the caregivers' oral health literacy and the oral health of children and youth with special health care needs.

AimPrevious studies have shown that children of caregivers with low oral health literacy (OHL) had more untreated caries than children of caregivers with adequate OHL. However, there is a paucity of information on this relationship among children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN). Accordingly, this study aims to assess the association between the caregivers’ OHL and the oral health status of CYSHCN.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted in four schools dedicated for CYSHCN. A 48-item questionnaire gathered information about the demographic and socioeconomic factors, the child/adolescent’s medical condition, dental characteristics, caregiver self-efficacy and the child’s dental attitude. The Comprehensive Measure of Oral Health Knowledge (CMOHK) questionnaire was used to assess the caregivers’ OHL. The Löe & Silness gingival index (GI) and the Silness & Löe plaque index (PI) were used to assess gingival health and plaque levels, respectively. Directed acyclic graphs (DAGs) were utilized for the selection of the appropriate set of confounding variables for regression analysis. The mean score differences and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated to quantify the associations of the various covariates with oral health outcome variables.ResultsThis study included 214 child/caregiver dyads. Most participants were physically disabled (56.1%) followed by children with hearing difficulty (9.8%) and congenital anomalies/syndromes (7.9%). The mean PI and GI of the children was 1.26±0.52 and 1.30±0.47, respectively. The median CMOHK score was 12 and the respondents were dichotomized based on the median value. Low caregiver oral health conceptual knowledge was significantly associated with higher PI scores (β [95% CI] = -0.26 [-0.41, -0.13]; p<0.001. Older participants (12-21-year-olds) had significantly higher plaque scores compared with younger participants (6-12-year-olds) (β [95% CI] = 0.33 [0.18, 0.51]; p<0.001). Participants who brushed their teeth twice or more daily had significantly lower (β [95% CI] = -0.15 [-0.43, -0.01]; p = 0.046). Conceptual knowledge score was not significantly associated with GI.ConclusionThis study found lower caregiver OHL levels to be associated with higher plaque scores for their child.

Individual and familial factors associated with caries and gingivitis among adolescents resident in a semi-urban community in South-Western Nigeria

ObjectivesWe describe the prevalence, and individual and familial risk indicators for dental caries and gingivitis among 10–19-year-old adolescents in Ile-Ife, South-West Nigeria.MethodsThis cross-sectional study collected data through household surveys conducted between December 2018 and January 2019. Adolescents were recruited through multistage sampling. Oral health outcomes were caries, measured by the ‘Decayed, Missing due to caries, and Filled Teeth’ (DMFT) index, and gingivitis, measured by the Loe and Silness gingival index. Explanatory variables were individual (sex, age, oral health perception) and familial (socioeconomic status, birth rank, family size and parental living status) factors. Oral health behaviors (daily tooth-brushing, use of fluoridated toothpaste, consuming refined carbohydrates in-between meals, use of dental floss, dental service utilization in past 12 months, and smoking habits) were treated as confounders. Poisson regression models with robust estimation were constructed to determine associations between explanatory factors and oral health outcomes.ResultsA total of 1472 adolescents were surveyed. Caries prevalence was 3.4%, with mean (standard deviation) DMFT of 0.06 (0.36) and plaque index of 0.84 (0.56). Only 128 (8.7%) adolescents brushed their teeth twice daily, 192 (16.1%) used dental floss daily, 14 (1.1%) utilized dental services in the last 12 months, and 508 (36.1%) consumed refined carbohydrates in-between meals less than once daily. The proportion of respondents who currently smoked cigarettes was 1.6%, and 91.7% of respondents used fluoridated toothpaste daily. The adjusted prevalence ratio of having caries increased by 18% for every additional age-year (APR: 1.18; 95% CI 1.004, 1.34). Additionally, participants with high socioeconomic status had significantly lower prevalence of caries compared to those with lower status (APR: 0.40; 95% CI 0.17, 0.91). Moderate/severe gingivitis was significantly associated with higher frequency of consuming refined carbohydrates in-between meals (APR: 2.33; 95% CI 1.36, 3.99) and higher plaque index scores (APR: 16.24; 95% CI 9.83, 26.82).ConclusionCaries prevalence increased with increasing age and was higher among Nigerian adolescents with low socioeconomic status, while moderate/severe gingivitis was associated with frequent consumption of refined carbohydrates and higher plaque index score. While behavioral interventions may reduce the risk of gingivitis, structural interventions may be needed to reduce the risk for caries in this population.

The effect of a preventive programme on dental plaque, gingivitis and caries in schoolchildren. Results after one and two years

Abstract The effect on plaque, gingivitis and dental caries of regularly repeated professional mechanical tooth cleaning combined with topical application of monofluoro‐phosphate was tested in a group of 192 schoolchildren, 7–14 years of age, during a 2‐year trial. They were divided into test and control groups.A baseline examination revealed that the test and control groups had a very similar oral hygiene status, degree of gingival inflammation and caries experience. Once every second week during the 2‐year period the children of the test groups were given professional oral prophylaxis including careful tooth cleaning and topical application of 5 % sodium mono‐fluorophosphate. Once every month, the children of the control groups brushed their teeth at school, under supervision, using a 0.2 % sodium fluoride solution.The results after 1 and 2 years of experiment indicate that the test group children had low Plaque Index scores (∼ 0.3), only negligible signs of gingivitis (∼ 0.25) and very low caries increment (0.1 new carious surface per year). The control group children had higher Plaque Index scores (∼ 1.0), showed signs of gingivitis (∼ 0.75), and developed on an average 3.1 new carious surfaces per year.It is suggested that the efficacy of public health programmes, based on professional tooth cleaning and topical fluoride administration, should be tested in larger groups of children and adults.