Oral Findings Among 1633 Jordanians

Samar Za’al Burgan

 

Dirasat, medical and biological sciences, vol. 23 (1): 32-40, 1996.

 

ABSTRACT

A pilot study of the presenting complaints and clinical findings has been conducted on a sample of 1633 Jordanians, aged 16-98 years, who attended the oral diagnostic clinic at the dental school, University of Jordan, Amman, for the years 1993-1995. These subjects were interviewed regarding their age, sex, area of residence and chief complaint. They were subsequently clinically examined by the author. The majority of subjects presented with toothache (37%) and tooth loss (26%). A greater number of females complained of unidentified oral pain and malaligned teeth than males. The oral health status was generally poor, 7.4% of the population were edentulous, while 92.6% were dentate of whom 71% had carious teeth, 26.4% had at least one tooth missing, 11.4% had malocclusion was detected in 3.4%. Assessment of periodontal conditions revealed that 71.5% of the dentate subjects had gingivitis and 10.9% had periodontitis. The number of females with partial tooth loss, malocclusion, and those needing pulpal care were greater than males, soft tissue pathology was detected in 1.6% of the sample population.

This study showed that the majority of subjects examined (99.7%) needed some type of treatment. The high prevalence of oral disease among Jordanians, particularly caries and gingivitis, suggests that dental health services in Jordan need to be evaluated. Primary health care programmes are required. Planned research studies regarding treatment needs of different population groups should be conducted.