September 2012

The Puerto Rican Elderly Dental Health Study is the first to evaluate the periodontal status of a representative sample in Puerto Rico. Objective: To assess the periodontal status among the elderly population in San Juan. Basic Research Design: Three dentists were trained and standardised by the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) reference examiner. They examined elders aged 70-97 in the San Juan area from participants in a representative cohort of the Puerto Rican elderly. Probing depth (PD), attachment loss (AL), and tooth mobility were assessed among the dentate participants on 4 sites on all teeth excluding third molars. We used the CDCAAP definitions for moderate periodontitis (≥2 teeth with AL ≥4mm at interproximal sites or ≥2 teeth with PD ≥5mm at interproximal sites) and severe periodontitis (≥2 teeth with AL ≥6mm at interproximal sites and ≥1 teeth with PD ≥5mm at interproximal sites). Results: The participation rate was 47%, 183 individuals, mean age 77.9 (sd 5.9), and 67% were females. Mean number of teeth was 15.8 (sd 6.8), and tooth mobility was present in 18% of participants. Mean PD was 1.5 (sd 0.6) and mean AL was 2.8 mm (sd1.5). The prevalence of moderate and severe periodontitis (CDC-AAP) was 44.5% compared to 20.7% in the NHANES 1999-2004 survey among 75 years and older. Conclusions: Our study showed high levels of severe and moderate periodontal disease among Puerto Rican older adults. Further research is needed to understand the reasons for the high prevalence. Key words: periodontal disease, prevalence, representative sample, older adults