Comparision of Periodontal Status of Urban and Rural Population in Dakshina Kannada District, Karnataka State

Periopathological studies have indicated that diseases of gums and loosening of teeth are as old as humanity. It continues to be one of the most common diseases affecting the human dentition. It has been seen that, due to differences between life styles and oral hygiene habits, there is a wide variation between the periodontal status of urban and rural population. As 70-80% of Indian population live in rural areas devoid of adequate treatment facilities, an attempt has been made through this study to compare the periodontal status of the urban and rural population of Dakshina Kannada District, Karnataka State using CPI (Community Periodontal Index with Loss of Attachment). A total of 1251 individuals were examined from Mangalore and Ujire populations in the age group of 15-19, 35-44 and 65-74 years using two stages stratified random sampling technique. It was observed that the periodontal status of urban population (14.52% with CPI code 0) was significantly better than in rural population (2.48% with CPI code 0). Also with increasing age, there was increase in severity of periodontal disease. These findings highlighted that the prevalence of periodontal disease was more in rural compared to the urban population.