[A cross-sectional study on periodontal conditions in elderly people in Wuxi city]

The present study was aimed to investigate the periodontal conditions in elderly people in Wuxi city, and to provide information for prevention of periodontal disease.

In a cross-sectional study, 1156 subjects (aged from 65 to 74 years old) were examined. Oral hygiene index-simplified(OHI-S), gingival index(GI), bleeding on probing(BOP), pocket depth (PD) and clinical attachment level(CAL)were measured to evaluate the periodontal condition. The data were analyzed with SPSS12.0 software package for Student's t test and Chi-square test.

The oral hygiene index-simplified of elder people in Wuxi City was 3.16±1.48, the gingival index was 1.33±0.54. Among BOP, PD and AL, no significant difference was found between rural and urban district in Wuxi city.

These results suggests that periodontal disease is quite common, poor periodontal conditions were found in elderly people in Wuxi city, great efforts are needed to prevent periodontal disease, and strengthen oral hygiene instruction. Supported by Science and Technology Project of Wuxi City (Grant No.csz00802).