Periodontal diseases among Quebec adults aged 35 to 44 years

Very little information is available on periodontal diseases in Canadian adults. The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of periodontal problems in Quebec adults aged 35 to 44.

A total of 2,110 randomly selected Quebec adults were examined between September 1994 and July 1995. The participation rate was 77% for the questionnaire and 44.5% for the oral examination. Measurements for gingival bleeding, calculus, epithelial attachment and periodontal pocket depths were taken for each tooth.

More than 80% of examined persons presented with gingival bleeding on at least one tooth, and 75% presented with calculus on at least one tooth. The CPITN indicated that only 5.2% of individuals had no treatment needs, and that one out of 5 necessitated complex treatment. People with low family income, men and persons living in metropolitan areas are at higher risk of having at least one tooth with a pocket >6 mm. Dental health behaviours (regular dental visits, brushing and flossing frequency) were not significantly associated with the presence of periodontal pockets. Finally, individuals were relatively unaware of their periodontal problems.

Increasing the population s awareness of periodontal diseases will be a major task for public health workers. The dental profession and the dental industry need to develop awareness campaigns to improve prevention, management and control of periodontal problems. It is especially important to target people at risk, in particular men and low-income groups. As well, dental schools and continuing education courses should focus on this problem with the aim of modifying dental practices.