Periodontal status among IDF recruits, an epidemiological study

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to describe the burden of periodontal diseases among 18 years old military recruits and to evaluate possible associations with personal and demographic variables.
Methods: The study was a cross sectional clustered randomised survey. Subjects were recruited to the study at their first day of military service. Subjects completed a questionnaire for personal and demographic data including: age, place of birth, residence information, education, medical status and current smoking status. Then subjects underwent clinical evaluation included CPI (Community Periodontal Index) by 5 calibrated clinicians. Worst CPI (WCPI) was calculated. Univariate analysis included Chi square, and a linear regression.
Results: A total of 702 subjects were included in the study, 58.4% were males. Their mean age was 19.03±0.65 years, 91.3% of the participants were born in Israel. Most of the participants (79.4%) had finished high school and were eligible for a matriculation certificate. 19.9% reported current smoking. According to the WCPI 15.9% were healthy, 15.1% were with bleeding on probing, and 25.4% had periodontal pockets (WCPI 3 and 4). Only subjects' parents’ poor education was associated with worse CPI score. After adjustments, all variables were not significant predictors to higher WCPI.
Conclusions: The current study is a representative survey of Israeli young adults showed high level of periodontal diseases.