Apical periodontitis and related factors in an adult Lithuanian population

Objectives. The objectives of this investigation were to study determinants of apical periodontitis among Lithuanians who were 35 to 44 years old and to Study possible associations between apical periodontitis, relevant gener al diseases, and perceived general health. Study design. Information was collected from a randomly selected sample, co nsisting of 147 individuals from Vilnius, Lithuania. Aspects of oral and ge neral health, health-related habits and attitudes, and social parameters we re used as independent variables, with various aspects of apical periodonti tis as the dependent variable. Associations were tested by regression analy sis. Results. Apical periodontitis was highly prevalent in this Lithuanian popul ation. Oral health-related variables showed the strongest association with apical periodontitis. Decayed and filled teeth scores were found to be stro ngly associated with periapical disease, and sound teeth were strongly asso ciated with periapical health. In addition, behavioral variables were found to be important disease determinants. Conclusions. Apical periodontitis appeared to bean oral health problem clos ely related to dental caries. No association could be detected between gene ral diseases and apical periodontitis, but an association between perceived general health and apical periodontitis was demonstrated.