The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of caries and gingivitis in a selected population of schoolchildren and to examine the relationship between prevalence of the diseases with their oral health behaviours. A total of 39 subjects, aged nine to 11 years, from 147 schoolchildren of a private school in Selangor, Malaysia were examined by two calibrated examiners trained in their own field. The subjects were interviewed using structured questionnaires. Erupted first permanent molars and permanent anterior teeth were examined. Dental caries, Plaque Score and Gingival Index were recorded. Descriptive statistics using frequency distribution were used to analyse the data. Forty-one percent of the subjects presented with more than 75% of total plaque accumulation. Prevalence of caries and gingivitis for the subject population was 18.0% and 31.0%, respectively. Caries was found on both the smooth (buccal/lingual/palatal) and occlusal surfaces. Gingivitis, diagnosed around 31.6% of teeth, was found more on the incisors (16.9%) than molars (14.7%). A relatively higher distribution of gingivitis was found on labial aspect of the incisors (5.5%) and palatal/ lingual aspect of the molars (4.7%). The prevalence of caries and gingivitis in this selected population was low. Certain dentition sites were more susceptible to dental caries and gingivitis. Good tooth brushinghabits and regular visits to the dentists do not guarantee the efficacy of plaque removal.
Introduction:PTGS2 and DEFB1 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) have been validated to be associated with chronic periodontitis (CP) in European, Japanese and Chinese populations. Polymorphisms of these genes play a role in the pathogenesis of CP. Thus far, no study has been done on the Malay ethnic group. Hence, this study assessed the allele and genotype frequencies of PTGS2 and DEFB1 variants in subjects with chronic periodontitis and healthy individuals in Malaysian Malays. Methods: Malay CP subjects and periodontally-healthy controls were obtained from Malaysian Periodontal Database and Biobanking system (MPDBS) for this case-control study. Diagnosis for cas-es was based on case definition by Eke et al (2012). DNA samples were genotyped for 4 candidate SNPs, rs689466, rs5275, rs20417 (PTGS2) and rs1047031 (DEFB1). Genotyping was carried out using Taqman genotyping method. The association between SNPs and study groups were assessed using logistic regression analysis. Results: DNA sam-ples from 140 individuals, 76 CP cases and 64 healthy controls were genotyped. Logistic regression results demon-strated that rs689466 for PTGS2 gene was associated with CP susceptibility in the Malay study group (p=0.03; OR: 1.80; 95% CI=1.05-3.07). The dominant and additive model test showed significant association with rs689466 (C/T) (pdominant-adjusted=0.02; OR: 2.22; 95% CI=1.11-4.43;padditive-adjusted=0.03; OR:1.85; 95% CI=1.07-3.19) after controlling for age and smoking. However, no significant association with CP was observed with other SNPs. Conclusion: The results suggest that rs689466 of PTGS2 gene may contribute to CP susceptibility in Malaysian Malay population in our preliminary study.