Study on the association between oral hygiene practices and periodontitis is inconclusive
Summary
Subjects
In 1999, clinical and radiographic data were collected by mailing questionnaires and requests for bite-wing radiographs to 721 subjects. The population belonged to the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS) and Nurse Health Study (NHS) and was made up of dentists, oral hygiene practitioners, and nurses. Only 533 questionnaires were returned: 152 respondents were male and 381 female, aged 52 to 85 years (69.0 ± 6.9); 449 (84.2%) were white; 66 (12.4%) were current smokers; 44 (8.3%) were diabetics; and 168 (31.5%) had cardiovascular disease. Bite-wing radiographs were available from only 297 responders out of 533.
Exposure
Oral hygiene practices (toothbrushing, flossing, mouth-rinses) reported on questionnaires.
Main Outcome Measure
Self-reported periodontitis.
Main Results
Brushing twice daily was not associated with a significantly different prevalence in self-reported periodontitis than brushing once or less daily (odds ratio = 1.16; 95% CI: 0.64 to 2.10), after controlling for profession, age, sex, smoking, diabetes, coronary heart disease, history of periodontal surgery, and number of teeth present.
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Dental School, University of Florence Florence, Italy
ABSTRACT