Original Article Assessment of oral hygiene behaviors and periodontal status among dental patients in Turkey: A pilot study Eylem Coşkun1 , Füsun Kıymet Ünlü2 1 Oral and Dental Health Center, Balıkesir, Turkey 2 Ege University, Faculty of Dentistry, Department of Periodontology, İzmir, Turkey Abstract Aim: Mechanical plaque control plays a substantial role in preventing periodontal diseases. The aim of this study was to determine the self- reported oral hygiene habits and periodontal status of dental patients in Turkey and to evaluate whether the data was consistent with the current periodontal status of the participants. Methodology: The study group consisted of 104 patients in consultation with a faculty of dentistry in Turkey. Clinical measurements included probing depth (PD), clinical attachment level (CAL), plaque index and bleeding on probing. A survey was conducted Correspondence: in order to learn participants’ oral hygiene habits and demographic Dr. Eylem COŞKUN data. Three groups of 0–3 mm, 4–6 mm, and ≥ 7 mm were assigned to Oral and Dental Health Center, all patients for PD and CAL values. Balıkesir, Turkey. Results: A total of 33.6% of the participants brushed their teeth two E-mail:
[email protected] or more times per day, and 33.7% brushed one time daily. The Received: 9 June 2018 percentage of dental floss use was 11.5% and interproximal brushing Accepted: 10 July 2018 was 7.7%. The percentage of the areas with 0–3 mm PD were 89.78%, and areas with 0–3 mm CAL were 86.61%. Areas with ≥ 7 mm PD and _____________________ CAL were found to be very low (PD: 3.85%, CAL: 3.60%).