Periodontal disease status of an indigenous population of Guatemala, Central America

Objectives: This study was designed to determine the periodontal disease st atus of an indigenous Indian community of rural Central America (San Juan L a Laguna, Guatemala), for comparison with results of similar studies in oth er populations, and with a view to performing future studies to address fam ilial clustering of adult periodontitis. Methods & Results: An initial screen of 239 subjects aged 12-75 years from extended families suggested a high disease prevalence according to full-mou th pocket probing depths (PPDs), with more than 75% of subjects with one or more pockets of PPD greater than or equal to5 mm. A more detailed study wa s performed in 125 unrelated subjects greater than or equal to 18 years, re cording full-mouth PPDs and clinical attachment levels (CALs). The high pre valence of pocketing was confirmed and 90% of adults greater than or equal to 35 years had at least one site with CAL greater than or equal to6 mm. Ho wever, extensive disease was restricted to a small minority, with only 10% of adults greater than or equal to 35 years having 20% or more sites with C AL greater than or equal to6 mm. Conclusion: The study results highlight the importance of performing a deta iled examination and appropriate analysis. In both studies, tooth retention was high (mean number of teeth recorded was 26.4 and 28.0 respectively), s moking unusual, and families large and localised to the village. This commu nity thus affords several advantages over populations in developed countrie s when considering familial studies of adult periodontitis.