Periodontal health of 14-17-year-old US schoolchildren

This paper describes the findings related to periodontal health in 14-17-year-old children who participated in the National Survey of Oral Health in US Schoolchildren, conducted by the National Institute of Dental Research (NIDR) during 1986-87. Gingivitis was observed in approximately 60 percent of children in this age group. The proportion of examined sites per child with gingivitis, however, was less than 6 percent. Gingivitis was most common in molar areas in the maxilla and incisor areas in the mandible. Supragingival calculus was observed in nearly 34 percent of the children, and subgingival calculus in approximately 23 percent. The proportion of teeth per child with calculus was approximately 8 percent for supragingival and 4 percent for subgingival calculus. Both types of calculus showed a predilection for molars in the maxilla and incisors and cuspids in the mandible. The mean periodontal attachment loss was 0.33 mm. The teeth most frequently affected by attachment loss of 2 mm or more were maxillary molars and bicuspids, followed by mandibular molars and cuspids.