Periodontal status among adult immigrants from rural Ethiopia

Dental research has emphasized the importance of understanding the epidemiology and etiology of periodontal disease, the second most prevalent dental pathology. The World Health Organization includes periodontal health prevalence, according to the Community Periodontal Index of Treatment Needs (CPITN), in its Global Oral Data Bank. Recent immigrants to Israel from Ethiopia offer a unique and important opportunity for investigation. Seventy adults aged 35-45 years were examined. Dividing the dentition into six sextants (according to CPITN), on average, two sextants were found to be healthy and only 1.18 sextants revealed shallow or deep pockets. These results demonstrate a relatively healthy periodontal status, as compared both to Israeli adults and data from the WHO Data Bank. Periodontal health has traditionally been related to regular dental visits (professional teeth cleaning) and home oral hygiene maintenance (toothbrushing and flossing). This population of immigrants had never visited dentists or hygienists nor used toothbrushes or dental floss. The periodontal health of this population is therefore of particular interest.