Influence of gender, socioeconomic and psychosocial conditions on the prevalence of periodontal disease

Abstract

The aim of this research is to evaluate the role of risk indica- tors on the prevalence and seve- rity of periodontal disease. The study consisted of a clinical trial of 58 patients, aging 20-57 years (28 males and 30 females) who attended the periodontal specia- lization clinic at FO/UPF. The instruments used in the research were: a questionnaire evaluating the individual and behavioral factors (physical activity, nutritio- nal habits, alcohol consumption, smoke, working hours and fami- liar relationship) along with clini- cal exainationm which evaluated the periodontal condition (disease severity) of each patient. Regar- ding the periodontal involvement, independently on the gender, 39% of the patients showed modera- te periodontitis (pockets with 4-6 mm depth) and 36% severe perio- dontitis (>6 mm). Although the smokers’ sample was reduced, it showed a strong correlation with the severity of the disease, as well as other factors analyzed namely, irritability and familiar problems, showing that the stressful stimuli may have a relation with the dise- ase severity. Key words: periodontal disease, psy- chosocial factors, risk indicators.