title: A 3-year community-based periodontal disease prevention programme for adults in a developing nation.
abstract: A field trail of a community programme for improving periodontal health of adults was carried out in a geographically remote, unsophisticated rural population in the South Pacific islands of Tonga. The 3-year project (1986-89) involved three village communities, each with a population of approximately 1200. Village N received supplies of toothbrushes and toothpaste without charge, health education (videos, talks, posters) and periodic dental scaling (ultrasonic). Village K received the same as N except that dental scaling was not provided. Village E received none of the services provided to the villages N and K. Baseline and final examinations of 20-44-year olds showed that unsupervised self-care promoted at the community level, when supplemented with periodic removal of subgingival calculus, significantly improved periodontal health. Improvement was age dependent.
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council of New Zealand, Wellington.
authors.forename: T W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Cutress
authors.forename: R N
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Powell
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kilisimasi
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tomiki
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Holborow
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003728:Dental Calculus / Q000517:prevention & control; D003773:Dental Plaque / Q000517:prevention & control; D012534:Dental Scaling; D003906:Developing Countries; D005260:Female; D005884:Gingival Hemorrhage / Q000517:prevention & control; D006267:Health Education, Dental; D006293:Health Promotion; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009910:Oral Hygiene; D010510:Periodontal Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010512:Periodontal Index; D010514:Periodontal Pocket / Q000517:prevention & control; D012648:Self Care; D014058:Tonga; D014099:Toothbrushing; D014100:Toothpastes
chemical_list: D014100:Toothpastes