Prevalence Of Gingival Bleeding Research Articles

No differences in gingival health associated outcomes following single-visit scale and polish

Randomised controlled three-arm parallel clinical trial set in general dental practice. Three hundred and sixty-nine patients were recruited to the trial. To be included patients had to be regular attenders aged 18 to 60 years with 20 or more teeth and BPE codes <3 and DT<4. They were excluded if they wore an intra-oral applicance or had systemic conditions or used medication that could predispose to periodontal disease. Participants were randomised to have single-visit scale and polish at 6 month, 12 month or 24 month intervals and treatment was carried out by nine hygienists and therapists. Randomisation was performed centrally at a distant site by the trial manager and participants were not informed for their treatment allocation until they returned for their 6-month recall. Allocation was not explicitly revealed to the dentist, and participants were asked not to reveal their allocation group to the dentist or the outcome examiner. The primary outcome measure was presence of gingival bleeding. Secondary outcome measures were presence of plaque and presence and amount of calculus. Data were collected for 83.5% of the original participants and 76.2% attended all five appointments. There were no statistically significant differences in prevalence of gingival bleeding at follow-up for each group: 6-month recall group 78.5%; 12-month group 78% and 24-month group 82% (p=0.746). There were also no differences between groups at follow-up for prevalence of plaque and calculus. This trial did not identify any differences in gingival health associated outcomes for single-visit scale and polish provided at 6-, 12- and 24-month frequencies for healthy patients. However, the results are not conclusive and larger trials with more comprehensive measurements are needed.

Estudo de base populacional sobre as condições periodontais e determinantes socioeconômicos em adultos residentes no município de Guarulhos (SP), Brasil, 2006

This study described the prevalence of periodontal conditions and assessed its association with social, economical and behavioral variables in adults aged 35 to 44 years old, residents in the city of Guarulhos, State of Sao Paulo, 2006. This study was a population based survey with cluster sampling. Data collecting and exams were done at houses drew at random. The Community Periodontal Index was used to assess the periodontal condition. Data analysis used EPIINFO 6 and STATA 10 softwares. The assessment of association used the prevalence ratio (PR), as calculated by Poisson regression models with complex sampling and weighted sample adjustments. The total number of people was 263 in 237 domiciles. In the multivariate model, the prevalence of gingival bleeding and dental calculus was significantly associated to being male (PR=1.12, p=0.04), smoking (PR=1.11, p=0.01), school level of less than eight years of study (PR=1.14, p=0.01), and who have not received dental care for more than two years (PR=1.19, p<0.01). As for the presence of periodontal pocket, associated factors were smoking (PR=1.71, p=0.02) and who have not received dental care for more than 2 years (PR=1.97, p=0.03). We observed a higher prevalence (62.7%) of individuals with gingival bleeding and dental calculus in relation to the presence of shallow or deep periodontal pockets (26,6%). As shallow pockets are reversible, their treatment may be resolute in programs of primary dental care.

Can oral pathogens influence allergic disease?

The hygiene hypothesis contends that fewer opportunities for infections and microbial exposures have resulted in more widespread asthma and atopic disease. Consistent with that hypothesis, decreases in infectious oral diseases over the past half century have coincided with increases in the prevalence of asthma and other allergic diseases. This observation has led some researchers to speculate that exposures to oral bacteria, including pathogens associated with periodontal diseases, such as gingivitis and periodontitis, might play a protective role in the development of asthma and allergy. Colonization of the oral cavity with bacteria, including some species of periodontal pathogens, begins shortly after birth, and the detection of serum antibodies to oral pathogens in early childhood provides evidence of an early immune response to these bacteria. Current knowledge of the immune response to oral bacteria and the immunologic pathogenesis of periodontal diseases suggests biologically plausible mechanisms by which oral pathogens could influence the risk of allergic disease. However, studies investigating the association between oral pathogen exposures and allergic disease are few in number and limited by cross-sectional or case-control design, exclusion of young children, and use of surrogate measures of oral bacterial colonization. Additional studies, particularly well-designed case-control studies among very young children and prospective birth cohortstudies, are needed.

Genetic and Environmental Factors in Oral Health among Twins

To date, studies on the contributions of genetic factors to oral health have been inconclusive. We hypothesized that major dental diseases show a significant genetic component. The study was based on self-reported oral health among young adult twins. The data were derived from the fourth wave of the longitudinal FinnTwin16 study, in which participants completed a questionnaire in 2000-2002 enquiring about the number of filled teeth and the prevalence of gingival bleeding. We used quantitative genetic modeling, based on the genetic similarity of identical and non-identical twins, to calculate the most probable model for both filled teeth and gingival bleeding. The models revealed a strong genetic component behind the number of filled teeth, differing between males (49%) and females (68%), and a weaker genetic component affecting gingival bleeding, being similar for males and females (32%). Genetic factors contribute to inter-individual differences in oral health among young adults.

Oral health and the impact of socio-behavioural factors in a cross sectional survey of 12-year old school children in Laos

BackgroundIn recent decades low-income countries experienced an increasing trend in dental caries among children, particularly recorded in 12-year olds, which is the principal WHO indicator age group for children. This increases the risks of negative affects on children's life. Some data exist on the oral health status of children in low-income countries of Southeast Asia. However, information on how oral health is associated with socio-behavioural factors is almost not available. The aims of this study were to: assess the level of oral health of Lao 12-year-olds in urban and semi-urban settings; study the impact of poor oral health on quality of life; analyse the association between oral health and socio-behavioural factors; investigate the relation between obesity and oral health.MethodsA cross sectional study of 12-year old schoolchildren chosen by multistage random sampling in Vientiane, Lao P.D.R (hereafter Laos). The final study population comprised 621 children. The study consisted of: clinical registration of caries and periodontal status, and scores for dental trauma according to WHO; structured questionnaire; measurement of anthropometric data. Frequency distributions for bi-variate analysis and logistic regression for multivariate analysis were used for assessment of statistical association between variables.ResultsMean DMFT was 1.8 (SEM = 0.09) while caries prevalence was 56% (CI95 = 52-60). Prevalence of gingival bleeding was 99% (CI95 = 98-100) with 47% (CI95 = 45-49) of present teeth affected. Trauma was observed in 7% (CI95 = 5-9) of the children. High decay was seen in children with dental visits and frequent consumption of sweet drinks. Missed school classes, tooth ache and several impairments of daily life activities were associated with a high dD-component. No associations were found between Body Mass Index (BMI) and oral health or common risk factors. The multivariate analyses revealed high risk for caries for children with low or moderate attitude towards health, a history of dental visits and a preference for drinking sugary drinks during school hours. Low risk was found for children with good or average perception of own oral health. High risk for gingival bleeding was seen in semi-urban children and boys.ConclusionAlthough the caries level is low it causes considerable negative impact on daily life. School based health promotion should be implemented focussing on skills based learning and attitudes towards health.

Occurrence of dental caries and gingivitis in low, medium and high fluoride areas in Finland

The study was performed on a material of 365 Finnish schoolchildren aged 13--15 years. One-third of the children were from Jyväskylä, with 0.2 parts/10(6) fluoride in the drinking water, one-third from Kuopio, with an artificially corrected 1.0 parts/10(6) fluoride content since 1959, and one-third from Hamina, where the natural fluoride content of the drinking water varies between 2.5 and 5.0 parts/10(6). All the children were scored for the Visible Plaque Index (VPI), the Gingival Bleeding Index (GBI) and for past caries experience (DFS). With increasing fluoride content of the drinking water the DFS scores were found to decrease significantly. No such difference was observed with regard to the VPI scores. The prevalence of gingival bleeding was found to be highest in Hamina (2.5 parts/10(6)). A highly significant positive correlation was found between individual VPI and GBI scores in all three towns. No corresponding correlations were found between the individual VPD and DFS scores. The latter finding is in desagreement with the generally accepted view that oral hygiene is an efficient caries-preventive measure.