Periodontal treatment need of the 6th-grade Jordanian pupils

The purpose of this study was to assess the periodontal treatment needs of 6th-grade Jordanian pupils aged 12 years old.

Forty-eight classes teaching 6th-grade pupils were randomly selected from the six education zones in Irbid region, Jordan. The data were collected during interviews and clinical examinations using the Community Periodontal Index of Treatment Needs (CPITN) criteria.

The findings revealed that 27.5% of the examined pupils had healthy periodontium, 22.9% showed gingival bleeding on probing but no calculus, and 31.4% had calculus deposits. Pockets in the 4-5 mm range were found in 17.6% and those in the>6 mm range in 0.6% of the pupils. Healthy periodontium was found in 2.9 sextants, whereas 2.7 sextants showed gingival bleeding and calculus. Periodontal pockets were demonstrated in less than 0.4 sextants. Periodontal therapy was not required for 27.5% of the pupils. The rest of the pupils (72.5%), however, needed oral hygiene improvement, and of these 50% required professional calculus removal.

This study indicated that about 73% of the sample needed oral hygiene instructions and motivation, 50% needed professional scaling, and 0.6% needed periodontal therapy. The data of this study establish a baseline data, which may help in planning dental services and initiating further research.