The Prevalence of Gingival Recession in the Egyptian Population

Abstract

Background: Gingival recession (GR) is a challenging condition especially with the increasing esthetic demand of patients today. Hence, there is a need to assess the prevalence of GR and to investigate possible associations with this condition. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study design was used where a sample of 500 patients, within the age range of 18-60 years, was drawn from the Faculty of Oral and Dental Medicine at Cairo University. The collected data included demographic and periodontal variables, and the significance level was set at P ≤ 0.05. Statistical analysis was performed via IBM® SPSS® Statistics Version 20 for Windows using the Chi-square and Fisher exact test. Results: The overall prevalence of GR was 69.4%. Statistical analysis indicated a significant association between gender and GR (significant male predilection, P ≤ 0.05), and between GR and plaque biofilm due to periodontitis with 90.8% of recession cases having periodontitis. A significant association was also found between the cause and distribution of GR, where mandibular incisors showed the highest prevalence of GR. Conclusion: Gingival recession is a highly prevalent condition among Egyptians, with periodontitis being the fundamental cause. Frenal pull is the most prominent local factor in inducing GR in the Egyptian population. This information can be applied by educating the population and initiating new preventive programs and awareness campaigns.