Periodontal and Systemic Diseases - Large-Scale Epidemiological Analysis in University Settings.

Objectives: Periodontal diseases are inflammatory human conditions associated with various local, systemic, environmental risk and contributory factors. The prevalence of periodontitis among the general U.S. adult population is approximately 42%, however, the periodontal characteristics of patients attending academic dental settings are unknown. The goals of our large-scale retrospective epidemiological study that involved patients attending academic dental clinics were to (i) characterize the prevalence of periodontal diseases and (ii) examine the association of periodontal diseases with local, systemic, and environmental factors.
Methods: De-identified data of adult (≥18 years) patients presented for periodontal evaluation at the University of Texas School of Dentistry from January 1, 2007 to July 1, 2020 were extracted from the axiUm^® database. The data included the patient's age, gender, selected local factors, systemic factors, environmental factors, and periodontal diagnostic determinants.
Results: A total of 7,965 patients met the inclusion criteria. The overall prevalence of gingivitis and periodontitis was 6.2% and 88.9%, respectively. In patients with periodontitis, severe periodontal breakdown corresponding to stage III periodontitis was the most common diagnosis (64.3%). No significant association between gingivitis and the examined factors was observed (P > .05). The severe periodontal breakdown was significantly associated with the patient’s age, male gender, ASA status, hypertension, osteoarthritis, coronary artery disease, history of myocardial infarction, and diabetes mellitus (P < .05). Hypertension and the presence of fixed dental prostheses were significantly associated with the three-way interaction among age, gender, and race.
Conclusions: In academic settings, the prevalence of periodontal diseases reached 95.1%. Although gingivitis was not significantly associated with the examined factors, periodontitis was associated with the patient’s age, male gender, Caucasian and Hispanic races, and compromised systemic conditions. The outcomes of this study will allow us to better understand the association between periodontitis, age, gender, and systemic health to develop effective therapeutic strategies.