Determination of the knowledge level of adult patients about periodontal and dental health in southeast Turkey: a cross sectional study and epidemiological research

Purpose: The study aims to determine the level of knowledge about periodontal and dental health and the prevalence of periodontal diseases of adult patients in the southeast region of Turkey. Material and Method: The study included 10 thousand patients aged 18 to 77 years. To gather information about demographic characteristics, oral hygiene, oral care habits, and periodontal status, a questionnaire of 15 questions were applied to the participants. The probing pocket depth (PPD) of all patients participated in the research were measured from 4 surfaces of the teeth. The collected data was analyzed statistically. Results: In this study, there was a statistically significant difference between gender and age and between those who went to dental doctors when had a toothache and those brushing teeth twice a day (p<0.001). The proportion of the respondents to these two questions was the highest in women and 18-30 age groups. There was a significant difference between halitosis and gum bleeding and between periodontal condition and education of level (p<0.001). The proportion of those who answered these two questions was found to be higher in those with periodontitis and high school-level education. In terms of periodontitis, men are at risk of 1.33 times more (95% CI: 1.23-1.45) compared to women, and age group of 44-56 years is at risk of 1.73 times more (95% CI: 1.41-2.53) compared to the age group of 18-30 years. Conclusion: According to the survey results, the majority of participants have knowledge about periodontal and dental health, but we think that individuals do not perform oral care to maintain oral and dental health due to the high prevalence of periodontal disease. The validity of this questionnaire can be investigated in larger population field studies. Keywords: Oral and Dental Health, Awareness, Adult, Periodontal Status Turkiye’nin Guneydogu Bolgesindeki Yetiskin Hastalarin Periodontal ve Dis Sagligi Hakkindaki Bilgi Duzeyinin Belirlenmesi Ozet Amac: Turkiye’nin Guneydogu bolgesindeki yetiskin hastalarin periodontal ve dis sagligi hakkindaki bilgi duzeyi ve periodontal hastaliklarin prevalansi belirlenmesi amaclanmistir. Materyal ve Metod: Calismaya 18-77 yas arasindaki 10000 hasta dahil edilmistir. Katilimcilara demografik ozellikleri, oral hijyen ve agiz bakimi aliskanliklari ve periodontal durum ile ilgili bilgi toplamak amaciyla, soru-cevap seklinde yapilandirilmis 15 soruluk anket uygulanmistir. Arastirmaya alinan butun hastalarin dislerin 4 yuzeyinden sondalamada cep derinligi (SCD) olcumu yapilmistir. Toplanan veriler istatistiksel olarak analiz edilmistir. Bulgular: Bu calismada; cinsiyet ve yas ile dis agrisi olunca dis hekimine gidenler ve gunde iki kez dis fircalayanlar arasinda istatistiksel olarak anlamli bir fark oldugu (p<0.001) ve en yuksek oranin kadinlar ve 18-30 yas grubunda oldugu bulunmustur. Agiz kokusu ve dis eti kanamasi ile periodontal durum ve egitim duzeyi arasinda anlamli fark oldugu(p<0.001) ve bu iki soruyu cevaplayanlarin oraninin periodontitis ve lise duzeyinde egitim alanlarda yuksek oldugu bulunmustur. Periodontitis acisindan, erkekler kadinlara gore 1.33 kat daha fazla (% 95 CI: 1.23-1.45), 44-56 yas grubu ise 18-30 yas grubuna kiyasla 1.73 kat daha fazla (% 95 CI: 1.41-2.53) risk altinda bulunmustur. Sonuc: Anket sonuclarina gore, ankete katilanlarin buyuk cogunlugu periodontal ve dis sagliginin hakkinda bilgili oldugunun farkindadir, fakat periodontal hastalik prevalansinin yuksek cikmasindan dolayi bireylerin agiz ve dis sagligini korumak icin yapmalari gereken agiz bakimini yapmadiklari dusunmekteyiz. Daha buyuk populasyonlu saha calismalarinda bu anketin gecerliligi arastirilabilir. Anahtar kelimeler: Agiz ve dis sagligi, Farkindalik, Yetiskin, Periodontal durum