IADR Abstract Archives
Long-term Patterns of Regular Dental Attendance and Periodontal Disease
Objectives: To explore the association between long-term pattern of dental attendance and periodontal disease among adults in the United Kingdom (UK).
Methods: This study used data from 2970 adults who participated in the UK 1998 Adult Dental Health Survey. Data were collected through home interviews and dental examinations. Individuals were categorised into four distinctive trajectories of dental attendance (current, always, former and never regular attender) from responses to three interrelated questions. The numbers of teeth with pocket depth (PD)≥4mm and loss of attachment (LOA)≥4mm were the periodontal measures. The association between long-term dental attendance patterns and each periodontal measure was assessed in crude and adjusted models using negative binomial regression, adjusted for socioeconomic (education, household income and social class) and demographic factors (sex, age and country of residence).
Results: Never and former regular attenders had greater numbers of teeth with PD≥4mm (Rate Ratios with 95% Confidence Intervals: 1.56 [1.25-1.93] and 1.31 [1.10-1.57], respectively) and LOA≥4mm (1.28 [0.99-1.66] and 1.34 [1.04-1.73], respectively) than always regular attenders, after adjustment for participants’ socio-demographic characteristics. However, there were no differences in periodontal measures between always and current regular attenders.
Conclusions: This study showed that different dental attendance patterns during the life course are associated with different periodontal health outcomes.
Methods: This study used data from 2970 adults who participated in the UK 1998 Adult Dental Health Survey. Data were collected through home interviews and dental examinations. Individuals were categorised into four distinctive trajectories of dental attendance (current, always, former and never regular attender) from responses to three interrelated questions. The numbers of teeth with pocket depth (PD)≥4mm and loss of attachment (LOA)≥4mm were the periodontal measures. The association between long-term dental attendance patterns and each periodontal measure was assessed in crude and adjusted models using negative binomial regression, adjusted for socioeconomic (education, household income and social class) and demographic factors (sex, age and country of residence).
Results: Never and former regular attenders had greater numbers of teeth with PD≥4mm (Rate Ratios with 95% Confidence Intervals: 1.56 [1.25-1.93] and 1.31 [1.10-1.57], respectively) and LOA≥4mm (1.28 [0.99-1.66] and 1.34 [1.04-1.73], respectively) than always regular attenders, after adjustment for participants’ socio-demographic characteristics. However, there were no differences in periodontal measures between always and current regular attenders.
Conclusions: This study showed that different dental attendance patterns during the life course are associated with different periodontal health outcomes.