Prevalence of periodontal disease among dental school patients

ObjectivesTo determine the prevalence of rare periodontal diseases in a dental school clinic that mimics a large general dentistry practice.MethodsWe reviewed the charts of all patients who sought comprehensive dental care at the Western University of Health Sciences Dental Center, California, USA, between September 2010 and February 2013 to determine the prevalence rates of various oral conditions and compared them with published data by chi-square analysis.ResultsPeriodontal disease was the commonest oral condition (96%), followed by caries producing enamel surface cavitation (70%), endodontic infections (26%), occlusal trauma as evidenced by fremitus (15%), oral lesions requiring biopsy (1%) and edentulism (1%). About 4% of patients had rare periodontal diseases, including localized aggressive periodontitis (0.3%), periodontal abscesses (0.6%), gingival abscesses (0.09%), combined periodontal–endodontic infections (2.6%), gingivitis modified by systemic factors (0.55%) and gingival diseases not associated with plaque (0.3%). Chronic periodontitis was slightly commoner (53.0%) than in the general US population and, with plaque-associated gingivitis (42.1%), constituted most of the periodontal disease. Patients were slightly older than the average for California and the US, but were of similar ethnic composition and average systemic health.ConclusionPeriodontal disease is common in patients of average health, and dentists should be ready to recognize and manage rare periodontal disease, as it occurs in about one of every 25 patients.