Prevalence of gingival stippling in children

Gingival stippling is a characteristic of the healthy attached gingiva and its diminution or loss has been considered as a sign of gingival disease. The clinician however, must take in consideration that its pattern and extent varies in different mouth areas, among persons and with age. Reports on the prevalence of stippling in children are few and inconsistent. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to describe the prevalence of gingival stippling in children of various ages. Fifty-five high quality anterior oral color slides of children (25 girls and 30 boys) aged 1 to 10 years, were examined for the presence of stippling. The average age of the study population was 5.1 years (S. E. = 0.3). The overall prevalence of stippling was 56.4%. Analysis of the differences between boys and girls in age (t-test) or the prevalence of stippling (Chi square) did not indicate statistical significance (p>0.05). Stippling was evident from 3 years of age and thereafter, with no particular trend of change with age. Stippling was found in 47.2% of the maxillary areas, in 41.7% of the mandibular areas and in 26.1% in both arches of the same child. The differences in distribution of stippling by gender and arch were not statistically significant (Chi square, p>0.05). In conclusion, gingival stippling was found to be a normal characteristic in 56.3% of 3 to 10-year-old children, without significant differences in prevalence related to arch, gender or age.