National survey of periodontal diseases in adolescents and young adults in Morocco.

AIM: National surveys of periodontal diseases in children are rare. This study describes the first national survey of oral health of adolescents attending public schools in Morocco. We report the prevalence and demographic determinants of periodontal diseases, and generate population estimates for this young population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study used a multi-stage probability sample comprising 14,667 students in 87 schools and 520 classrooms, representative of students attending grades 6-12 (age 12-18 years) in Morocco. The students were interviewed and then examined clinically to assess their periodontal status, which was classified according to the 2017 World Workshop. In addition, the diagnosis of aggressive periodontitis (AgP) was assessed. RESULTS: Of approximately 3 million students in this age cohort, 12.3% (or approximately 360,894 subjects) had periodontitis and 46.9% (1.4 million) had gingivitis. They comprised 10.8%, 2.9%, and 6.1% subjects with periodontitis stage I, II, and III/IV, respectively; 5.0%, or 148,336 subjects, had AgP. The prevalence rates were not significantly different by gender or urban status. However, the prevalence of AgP was particularly high in certain regions of Morocco. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of staged periodontitis and AgP in this young population is among the highest reported in national surveys worldwide.

Prevalence of periodontal disease in young Moroccans: A national survey.

BACKGROUND: There are few large surveys of periodontal disease in young age cohorts, and national surveys in Africa do not exist. This study assessed the prevalence and severity of periodontal disease in a national survey of adolescents and young adults in Morocco. METHODS: A multistage probability sampling design was used to draw a sample of 14,667 students 12-25 years old attending 87 schools. The sample was representative of approximately three million Moroccan students in this age group. RESULTS: A total of 27.9%, 11.9%, and 7.7% of the subjects had ≥1 tooth with ≥4, ≥5, and ≥6 mm probing depth, and the population estimates were ≈ 822,436, 349,961, and 226,297 affected subjects, respectively. For attachment loss, the prevalences were: 11.6%, 9.5%, and 6.9% (or ≈ 341,761, 281,043, and 203,977 affected subjects) for ≥4, ≥5, and ≥6 mm, respectively. The rates of probing depth and attachment loss increased significantly with the increase in age (p < 0.01, p < 0.001). Sex and urban status did not show significant effects on the prevalence of periodontal disease (p > 0.05). Similarly, the relationship between the occupation status and periodontal status was modest and not statistically significant (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Children and young adults attending public schools in Morocco have a high prevalence and severity of periodontal disease compared with other populations of similar age. The rate of periodontal disease reported here may be used as baseline population estimates in the surveillance of disease status in this population.