Confirmation of symmetrical distributions of clinical attachment loss and tooth loss in a homogeneous Mexican adult male population

Background/purpose: To ascertain whether or not clinical attachment loss and tooth loss are present with similar severity and prevalence across the two sides of the mouth in a homogeneous sample of urban male adults. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out on 161 policemen (a largely homogeneous group in terms of ethnic background, socioeconomic status, sex, occupation, and medical/dental insurance) in Campeche, Mexico. Periodontal examinations were undertaken using the Florida Probe System in a dental chair by one trained and standardized examiner (kappa >0.60) to determine clinical attachment loss and tooth loss. We examined six sites in all teeth present in the mouth (a maximum of 168 sites, no third molars). Because of correlated data between observations, McNemar (for tooth loss) and Wilcoxon (for attachment loss) signed-rank tests were used to compare right and left sites within the same patient. Results: The mean age was 38.4 +/- 11.0 years. The mean number of teeth present was 24.4 +/- 4.6; the mean number of periodontal sites/person was 146.7 +/- 27.8. All P values were >0.05 (except for attachment loss in the upper first premolars), suggesting that there were no statistically significant differences between the right and left sides for the frequency of presentation of these two conditions. Conclusion: Tooth loss and attachment loss measurements largely resemble each other on both sides of the mouth.