ABSTRACT
AIMS: Several studies have shown a large diversity in the prevalence, extent and severity of gingival recession as well as controversial conclusions of its associated factors. Therefore, the aim of this pilot study was to evaluate gingival recession with predisposing factors in young Vietnamese. METHODS: A cross-sectional study using clinical examination was performed in 120 dental students. Oral hygiene status, tooth malposition and fraenal attachment were recorded. The width of keratinised gingiva was measured after mucosa staining with Lugol's iodine solution. Measurements of gingival recession were performed on labial tooth surfaces. Chisquare test, t-test and Pearsonâs correlation were used for data analysis. RESULTS: The prevalence of gingival recession was 72.5% of the studied population. The extent of affected teeth was 11.1% of the examined teeth. The proportion of root-surface exposure was statistically higher (P<0.05) in the maxilla (12.5%) than in the mandible (9.6%). Premolars and right canines were the teeth most frequently and most seriously associated with gingival recession, respectively. There was a strong negative correlation between narrow width of keratinised gingiva and gingival recession (P<0.001). The recession was statistically associated with tooth malposition (P<0.001) but it was not related to high fraenal attachment and gender. CONCLUSIONS: A high prevalence of gingival recession was found in Vietnamese dental students. Gingival recession was associated with narrow width of keratinised gingiva, tooth malposition and maxillary teeth. Further studies performed in larger populations with more extended age groups are needed to confirm these findings.
