Periodontal Disease Status of an Adult Population in a Nigerian Rural Community

Abstract

Objective: To assess the periodontal status of a
Nigerian rural dwelling adult population as well as
factors associated with the occurrence.
Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study. Data on
socio-demographic characteristics, oral self-care
practices and social habits were collected with
interviewer-administered questionnaires. Normative
assessment of periodontal status was done according to
the World Health Organisation Oral Health Survey
criteria. Data was analysed for descriptive and
inferential statistics using Chi-square, Fisher’s Exact and
logistic regression tests at 95% confidence interval and
test for significance set at (p<0.05).
Results: The mean age (± SD) of the 490 study
participants was 36.1 ± 15.8 with male 258 (52.7%) and
female 232 (47.3%). Nearly all participants, 461 (94.1%)
used toothbrush and paste for mouth cleaning.
Frequency of once daily mouth cleaning was 60.2% and
31.4% of the participants were habitual users of alcohol
and tobacco. Prevalence of gingivitis and periodontitis
was 62.2% and 37.3% respectively. The prevalence of
periodontal disease increased with older age and lower
educational attainment (p=<0.001). Participants who
used chewing stick as tooth cleaning material were 8.5
times more likely to have periodontitis than those who
used toothbrush and paste (OR=8.5, 95% CI: 1.247 -
57.931, p=0.029).
Conclusion: The prevalence of periodontal disease was
high indicating that the prevalence has not changed
over the years in Nigeria. However, oral self-care
practices were below optimal. There is a need for
intervention through health promotion with special
attention to older adults and persons with lower
educational attainment to improve oral self-care
practices and periodontal health in this group.