Prevalence of Gingival Recession in the Nepalese Population Visiting Tertiary Care Hospital

Gingival recession is the exposure of root surface by an apical shift in the position of the gingiva. Exposure of the tooth surface leads to caries of the root surface, abrasion, erosion, sensitivity, esthetic concern and interproximal plaque accumulation. So, the objective of the present study was to find out the prevalence of recession in Nepalese population and its etiological factors.

A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 350 participants for a period of December 2023 to February 2024 at Department of Periodontology and Oral Implantology, Dhulikhel Hospital after obtaining ethical approval from Institutional Review Committee (Reference no: 229/23). Written informed consent was obtained and gingival recession and its associated factors were examined using well-formed proforma. Data were entered into Microsoft excel and descriptive statistics were reported.

Out of a total of 350 participants, the prevalence of gingival recession was found to be 170 (48.56%, 95% CI = 43.33-53.73%). Among the participants, 177 (50.57%) were male, with 86 (48.58%) having gingival recession, while 84 (48.55%) of the remaining female participants had gingival recession. In the 40-49 years age group, 62 (72.09%) individuals had gingival recession. Gingival recession was observed in 48 (64.87%) participants with poor oral hygiene, 31 (67.39%) using a hard toothbrush, 22 (61.12%) with a history of prosthodontic treatment, 7 (70%) with subgingival restorations, and 3 (100%) with papillary penetrating frenal attachment.

The study reported a high prevalence of gingival recession among sample Nepali adult population compared to other studies and there were multiple etiologies associated with it.