The periodontal status of irregular dental attenders.

The aim of this investigation was to assess the prevalence and severity of periodontal destruction in irregular dental attenders. 50 subjects aged between 20 and 49 years completed a questionnaire and had a periodontal examination. Measurements of plaque, calculus, bleeding, probing depth and clinical attachment level were made at 4 proximal sites per tooth. Results were compared to those for 132 regular attenders. The irregular attenders had more sites with plaque (46.3 +/- 27% versus 17.3 +/- 21.1%) than the regulars and significantly more sites which bled (53.7 +/- 20.4% versus 33.6 +/- 20.7%) and with calculus (35 +/- 21.1% versus 13.4 +/- 12.8%). However, the irregulars had virtually the same number of teeth as the regular attenders, 25.6 +/- 3.3 compared with 25.4 +/- 4.3. Irregular attenders had slightly deeper mean probing depths (2.9 +/- 0.4 versus 2.7 +/- 0.4 mm) but the prevalence and extent of attachment loss was no different between the groups. It was concluded that the prevalence and severity of destructive periodontal disease as indicated by periodontal attachment loss was not related to the regularity of dental attendance in the groups studied.