Characteristics of patients requesting treatment at a periodontics specialty facility in a Chilean population

Resumen

Objective: To undertake characterization of patients requesting periodontic specialty care. Material and methods: The presentwas a descriptive study which included all patients registered toreceive dental care in a population of the Quinta Region in Chile. Data were grouped according to male and female gender, as wellas age range. The following was recorded: presence or absenceof tobacco use habit, type II diabetes mellitus (DM), admission toperiodontal treatment, treatment desertion and admission to posttreatment periodontal therapy (PTPT). For statistical analysis offrequency differences χ2 test, alpha 0.05, confidence level 95%potency 80% and t student test were used, assessing differencesaccording to age and gender. Results: 110 patients requestedtreatment: 75 female and 35 male. 94% were admitted in thespecialty program. Average age was 41 years (SD 15). During theone-year follow-up, 68% of patients remained in treatment, and 19%was admitted in PTPT. Type II DM rate was 4% for females and31% for males (p < 0.001). Patients in age range 14-29 years weremore prone to abandon periodontal treatment. With respect to typeII DM differences were statistically signifi cant in average age, 39.5(SD 15.3) years (p = 0.002) and average age for desertion 33.2 (SD17.7) years (p > 0.001). Conclusions: Women were more inclined to attend periodontal treatment than men, young patients desertedtreatment more frequently. Studies on both genders revealed thatmales exhibited greater rate of type II DM. Additionally, diabetic patients were younger in average age as well as in average age fordesertion of periodontal treatment