Prevalence of periodontal diseases (gingivitis and periodontitis) based on gingival health indices in 35-70-year-old patients referred to Rafsanjan Cohort Center, Iran, in 2019

BACKGROUND an‎d AIM: Periodontal disease is considered to be a remarkable factor affecting the quality of life and systemic and oral health by causing various symptoms for patients. The objective of this research was the evaluation of periodontal status and its related factors including age, gender, educational level, oral hygiene, and diabetes mellitus (DM) in people aged 35-70 years in cohort population of Rafsanjan, Iran. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 7855 patients aged 35-70 years who referred to Rafsanjan Cohort Center in 2019 were selected through systemic sampling and were examined according to their gingival health indices such as bleeding on probing (BOP), periodontal pocket depth, and clinical attachment loss (CAL). Data were then analyzed by SPSS software using chi-square test and independent t-test. P-value less than 0.05 was set as significant level. RESULTS: All three gingival health indices were higher in people in older age category significantly (P = 0.0001). BOP index was significantly higher in women (P = 0.0001); the other two indices were also more in women, although insignificantly. By education level increase, BOP, pocket depth, and CAL decreased (P = 0.0001, P = 0.0650, and P = 0.0001, respectively). Moreover, brushing decreased all indices although this decline was just significant for BOP and pocket depth (P = 0.0380 and P = 0.0001, respectively). Concerning DM, no significant difference was observed between diabetics and non-diabetics in CAL (P = 08910) and pocket depth (P = 0.3240). However, people with DM had significantly higher BOP (P = 0.0001). CONCLUSION: Periodontal diseases were more likely in women with older age and lower educational level who had poorer oral hygiene. People with DM had higher BOP but CAL and periodontal pocket were not different between diabetics and non-diabetics.