[Periodontal diseases in a university setting in Ivory Coast]

The aim of this study was to measure the prevalence and severity of periodontal diseases, and also to evaluate periodontal treatment needs of the students of Abidjan University, in Ivory Coast. 647 students were randomly selected and interviewed to determine age, sex and oral hygiene habits; the subjects were examined for tooth mobility, plaque, calculus, gingival bleeding, periodontal probing depths and gingival recessions. The oral hygiene was insufficient: 86.08% of the subjects presented calculus--The average of sextants presenting gingival bleeding was to 4.03 and to 3.43 for calculus. The prevalence and severity of periodontal pockets were low: only 0.36 sextants on average presented pockets of 4-5 mm and 0.025 sextants presented pockets of 6 mm or more. As concerns periodontal treatment needs, 89.64% of subjects needed oral hygiene advises, 84.85% needed scaling/root planning, and 1.39% needed complex periodontal treatment. Our findings confirm the fact that destructive periodontal disease is not an inevitable consequence of gingivitis. The information, screen, and prevention should begin reality in our daily practice.