The Relationship between Occupation and Periodontal Indices

Objectives: This study is aimed at assessing the influence of socio-economic level on the severity of periodontal disease.Methods: A one year retrospective study of 293 patients who had been treated at the periodontics clinic of the University College Hospital, Ibadan was conducted. Case file records were reviewed and information on patients' bio-data, occupation and periodontal health status as indicated by the plaque, calculus and gingival indices were retrieved. The patients were categorized into various socio-economic class by utilizing the occupational strata devised by Famuyiwa and Olorunshola (1998). The relationship between periodontal health and socio-economic classes of patients was statistically assessed.Results: Most of the patients were civil servants accounting for 29.4% (86), 79(26.6%) were students, 63 (21.5%) were professionals and 55(19.1%) were classified as unskilled. The semi-skilled group was least represented constituting 10 (3.4%) of the entire patient population. Chi-square analysis revealed no significant association between the socio-economic class and periodontal health status. Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that severity of periodontal disease does not have a significant association with the socio-economic status of patients. We identified some limitations of the study and suggest that further investigation on this subject is desirable.