Periodontal conditions in 35-44 and 65-74-year-old adults in Denmark

Objectives. To assess the periodontal health status in the Danish adult population and to analyze how the level of periodontal health is associated with age, gender, urbanization, socio-economic factors, and dental visiting habits; furthermore, to compare the periodontal health status of Danish adults with that of adults in other industrialized countries. Material and Methods. A cross-sectional study of a random sample of 1,115 Danish adults aged 35-44 years and 65-74 years. Data were collected by means of personal interviews and by clinical examinations in accordance with the World Health Organization Basic Methods Criteria. Results. The clinical examination revealed a low prevalence of healthy periodontal conditions in both age groups: at age 35-44 years 7.7% and at age 65-74 years 2.4% had healthy periodontal conditions. A high proportion of the elderly had scores of severe periodontal health; more than 82% of older participants had pockets of 4-5 mm or deeper against 42% in younger adults. In both age groups, the mean number of teeth with periodontal pockets deeper than 4-5 mm was high in individuals with low education. Only a weak association between periodontal health and income was found. High Community Periodontal Index scores were seen for irregular dental visitors, but in the 35-44-year-olds deep periodontal pockets were more often seen among young regular dental visitors. The multivariate analysis showed that participants with low or medium levels of education had significantly more teeth with shallow and deep pockets than those with high education. Persons with regular dental visiting habits had fewer teeth with gingival bleeding, shallow and deep pockets than individuals with irregular dental visiting habits. Conclusion. Reorientation of the Danish dental health-care services is needed with further emphasis on preventive care, and public health programs should focus on risk factors shared by chronic diseases in order to improve the periodontal health of Danish adults.