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The Prevalence of Periodontal Disease in Different Populations During the Circumpubertal Period
Author(s) -
Russell A. L.
Publication year - 1971
Publication title -
journal of periodontology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.036
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1943-3670
pISSN - 0022-3492
DOI - 10.1902/jop.1971.42.8.508
Subject(s) - citation , periodontal disease , period (music) , journal of public health , library science , medicine , public health , dentistry , gerontology , family medicine , pathology , computer science , art , health policy , public health policy , aesthetics
CRUDE PREVALENCE DATA can be meaningful only if they can be related to the characteristics of the disease under study and to the characteristics of the population in which disease occurs. Previous speakers in this conference have provided insights which should be helpful in interpretation of the prevalence data to be presented here today. Dr. Lamb outlined the intricate processes of immune mechanisms in tissue, mechanisms which can protect or destroy those tissues; Dr. Mickelsen observed that the Recommended Dietary Allowances are arbitrary standards, not necessarily demarking the limit between ample and deficient (and reminded us of the dangers inherent in broad generalization from limited data); Dr. Socransky made it very plain that the oral flora is not uniform but widely variable in composition and pathogenicity from person to person and possibly from geographic place to geographic place; and Dr. Kleinberg demonstrated that oral plaque can vary from person to person, and even between one site and another within a given mouth. Each of these observations seems to be apropos directly to an understanding of known prevalences of periodontal disease in young and teen-age children here and in other parts of the world.