ORAL HEALTH STATUS AMONG PATIENTS SEEN AT ENDODONTIC CLINIC AT PRINCE RASHED HOSPITAL IN THE NORTH OF JORDAN

Abstract

The study was aimed to assess the oral health care, plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI) scores and, decayed, missing, filled tooth ( DMFT) index in patients undergoing endodontic treatment at Prince Rashed Hospital in the North of Jordan.
Two hundred endodontic patients with an age range of eighteen to forty-four years old formed the study group. One hundred twenty (60%) females and eighty (40%) males were examined by a periodontist to assess oral and gingival health using L and Silness plaque and gingival indices, (PI) and (GI). The patients were asked to fill a questionnaire regarding the oral hygiene practice they follow, and whether he or she was a smoker.
Results of this study showed that out of total of one hundred twenty females, one hundred two patients (85%) brushed their teeth at least once; fifty-eight patients of the males did that (72.5%). Twenty-two patients of the females (18.3%) used auxiliary oral hygiene aids, and nineteen patients of the males (23.8%) did that. The mean PI for the whole sample was 1.49 while the mean GI was 1.63. For the female sample, the mean PI and GI were 1.38 and 2.08, respectively. For the male sample, the mean PI and GI were 1.66 and 2.2, respectively. The DMFT for the females was 7.2, while it was 8.9 for the males. For the whole sample, it was 7.9. Two female patients (1.6%) in the sample were smokers, while 22 male patients (27.5%) smoked. A total of 24 patients (12%) in the sample were smokers.
It was concluded that the oral health status among adults in Jordan was within the global average, and this was shown by PI, GI, and the oral hygiene measures used by the sample. The prevalence of dental caries in this study represented by the DMFT was close to that of other studies in Jordan and other countries.