Prevalence of periodontal attachment loss in 12 to 16-year-old adolescents in a Public school in Porto Alegre

Abstract

The aim of this study was to verify prevalence of loss of attachment in 12-16 years old adolescents of a public school in Porto Alegre. The prevalence of loss of attachment was determined by means of periodontal probing a mesial, distal, buccal and lingual surfaces of incisors and first permanent molars. A trainer examiner performed the examination with Williams periodontal probe, odontoscope are standard illumination. The level of attachmet was defined as thc distance in millimeters from the cementum-enamel junction to the most apically probable portion, close to thc bottom of the sulcus/pocket. For cach site, two measurements were performed, the distance from the gingival margin to the cementure enamel junction, and the distance from the gingival margin to the bottom of the sulcus pocket. The level of attachment for a site was calculated subtracting the first and the second or, in case of gingival recession, adding both. Loss of attachment was considered when this measure exceeded 2 mm in buccal-lingual surfaces and 3 mm in proximal surfaces. 3048 sites were examined, showing a prevalence of 4.82% of loss of attachment. From these, 36.77% bled on probing and 61.22% did not. The buccal surface was the one with the highest prevalence of loss of attachment.