PERIODONTAL STATUS AMONG ADULT IMMIGRANTS FROM RURAL ETHIOPIA

Dental research has emphasized the importance of understanding the epi demiology and etiology of periodontal disease, the second most prevale nt dental pathology. The World Health Organization includes periodonta l health prevalence, according to the Community Periodontal Index of T reatment Needs (CPITN), in its Global Oral Data Bank. Recent immigrant s to Israel from Ethiopia offer a unique and important opportunity for investigation. Seventy adults aged 35-45 years were examined. Dividin g the dentition into six sextants (according to CPITN), on average, tw o sextants were found to be healthy and only 1. 18 sextants revealed s hallow or deep pockets. These results demonstrate a relatively healthy periodontal status, as compared both to Israeli adults and data from the WHO Data Bank. Periodontal health has traditionally been related t o regular dental visits (professional teeth cleaning) and home oral hy giene maintenance (toothbrushing and flossing). This population of imm igrants had never visited dentists or hygienists nor used toothbrushes or dental floss. The periodontal health of this population is therefo re of particular interest.