title: New considerations in the prevalence of periodontal disease.
abstract: International surveys demonstrate that the prevalence of pocketing of 6 mm or more is between 5% and 20% for much of the world's population. A recently completed national survey of employed adults found the prevalence of gingival bleeding was 44%, the prevalence of pocketing of 4 mm or more was 14%, and the prevalence of attachment loss of 3 mm or more was 44%. Risk indicators for a higher prevalence of periodontal disease include increasing age, poor education, lack of professional dental care, previous periodontal destruction, tobacco use, and diabetes. African-Americans show a higher prevalence of juvenile periodontitis and adult periodontitis than whites. The female-to-male ratio in juvenile periodontitis may be close to 1:1. Another report during the review period suggests that periodontal disease in adults may have a strong genetic component. A doctoral dissertation demonstrated that the sensitivities of methods used in a national survey to detect pocketing and attachment loss range from 0.24 to 0.87 in a high-prevalence population.
authors.affiliation: Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Boston.
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Fox
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D000368:Aged; D010520:Aggressive Periodontitis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000150:complications; D004846:Epithelial Attachment; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007198:Indians, North American; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010510:Periodontal Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D010512:Periodontal Index; D010514:Periodontal Pocket / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology