MOUTH HYGIENE HABITS AND THEIR RELATION TO PERIODONTAL DISEASE

¹ Sir C. E. M. Dental College and Nair Dental College, Bombay, India

An incidence of 83.2 per cent of "generalized periodontal disease" was found among 1,455 residents of Bombay. The incidence increased with age. Most of the individuals examined used tobacco on the finger as an oral hygiene aid. Among the 248 toothbrush users no difference in effect was evident between tooth paste and tooth powder employment. Among the 1,007 finger users the use of charcoal, tooth powder, or tobacco as aids did not seem to effect the incidence of disease. However, the occurrence of periodontal disease was more common in the posterior segments of the mouths of finger-tobacco users than in those using the finger with tooth powder or charcoal.

The incidence of generalized periodontal disease did not appear to be affected by the method of oral hygiene but increased with age regardless of the oral hygiene method used.