Frequency of chronic periodontitis in a cross section of Pak army personnel

To determine the frequency of periodontitis in lower ranks of Pakistan Army. A descriptive study. The study was conducted at Armed Forces Institute of Dentistry, Rawalpindi between Aug 2003 and Feb 2005. This is a in which Periodontal status of maxillary and mandibular incisors and permanent first molars in five hundred and fifteen personnel of the Pakistan Army was evaluated using plaque index, probing depths, attachment loss, bleeding upon probing, tooth mobility and presence of calculus. One hundred and sixty five [32.04%] subjects had 5 mm or deeper probing depths as well as associated attachment loss of at least 2 mm and were considered to be suffering from Chronic Periodontitis. The study detected that a noticeable percentage of subjects in this population had a substandard level of oral hygiene and consequently suffered from Chronic Periodontitis

Current status of dental caries in the junior ranks

Dental caries is one of the most prevalent chronic bacterial disease of mankind responsible for extensive tooth loss in our country. To find out the prevalence of dental caries amongst our troops, 1500 Junior army personnel aged 18-50 years were examined and their DMF Index recorded. The results showed that 57.6% of the subjects suffered from dental caries, 74.4% had no missing teeth and 91.3% had no restorations in their mouth. The DMF Index ranged between 1.28 to 4.45 [mean=2.77]. A mean DMF Index of 2.77 in this study placed our subjects in a "moderate level" of dental caries status of WHO criteria. To reduce the dental caries in our troops, more emphasis should be laid on the preventive measures