Gingival recession and toothbrushing in an Italian School of Dentistry: a pilot study

The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate the prevalence of gingival rece ssion at buccal tooth surfaces in a student population of Bologna Universit y Dental School. A total of 55 subjects, attending the 1st and 5th year of the course were examined. The clinical examination involved assessment of p laque, calculus, width of keratinized gingiva, buccal probing depth and buc cal gingival recession. Information about toothbrushing behavior was collec ted in an interview The multiple regression analysis showed that level of e ducation (p=0.002), toothbrushing technique (p=0.013) and toothbrushing fre quency (p=0.016) are significant contributors to gingival recession. Notwit hstanding the limits of a preliminary study, a higher prevalence of buccal recession is observed in the final year students, which have also a signifi cantly lower % of buccal surfaces with calculus (p=0.014). In addition, it clearly appears that there is the necessity to investigate other factors co nnected with toothbrushing (pressure, time, toothpaste quantity) in order t o provide an oral hygiene education without undesired effects.