Comparison of Clinical Periodontal Parameters in Two Colombian Oral Health National Studies, 1998 and 2014

The aim was to compare the results of two large Colombian epidemiological studies in order to describe trends in the presence of clinical periodontal parameters.

In 1998 and 2014, two epidemiological studies on national representative samples selected following probabilistic methods were performed. In 1998, a total of 9747 subjects received a partial-mouth periodontal examination in ten approximal sites, and in 2014 a total of 9821 participants received a full-mouth examination, with an average of 126 sites per person. Although the studies followed different methodologies, the newer study was adapted to be able to perform a direct comparison, including analysis of index teeth and clinical parameters in accordance with the 1998 protocol. Number of teeth and value of the extent and severity index were compared. Descriptive statistics were reported.

The results showed that the mean number of teeth increased in the more recent study: for the age category 35 - 44 years, this increased from 19.2 to 23.8 teeth; however, both studies described a signifi cant decrease in the number of teeth at later ages. Values for the extent and severity index were high in both studies. A larger proportion of subjects was affected by mild and generalized attachment loss in the new study, but the percentages of participants affected by moderate and severe attachment loss were similar.

It could be concluded that the periodontal conditions of large samples examined 16 years apart did not reveal signifi cant changes in the presence of generalized attachment loss. Renewed health policies are needed to diminish periodontitis prevalence.