The aims of this study were to assess the periodontal health and oral hygiene status of pregnant women and non-pregnant controls and to evaluate the effect of socio-demographic and other variables on such periodontal status. A total of 400 women, of whom 200 were pregnant (mean age=30 years, s.e.m.=0.05) and 200 non-pregnant controls (mean age=32 years, s.e.m.=0.05) were chosen at random from four health centres. The clinical parameters used were the Silness and Loe plaque index (Pl.I), Loe and Silness gingival index (GI), probing pocket depth (PPD), probing attachment level (PAL), any relationship to socio-demographic (age, level of education and professional level) and clinical variables (gestation period, previous pregnancy and vomiting during pregnancy) was evaluated. The results showed that pregnant women had significantly higher GI and PPD scores (P < 0.005) but with no statistically significant differences in PAL or Pl.I (P > 0.01) compared with non-pregnant controls. Increased age, lower level of education and non-employment were associated with significantly higher GI and PPD scores (P < 0.01). All these clinical parameters increased in parallel with the increase in the stage of pregnancy, reaching their maximum at the eighth month. Women with previous or multiple pregnancy had statistically significantly higher GI and PPD scores than those who were pregnant for the first time (P < 0.01), but with no statistically significant differences in Pl.I or PAL scores (P > 0.05). Also, women who vomited during pregnancy had significantly higher GI and PPD scores compared with those who did not vomit (P < 0.05). It is concluded that gingival inflammatory symptoms are aggravated during pregnancy and are related to increased age, lower level of education and non-employment. Therefore periodontal preventive programmes are very important for pregnant women.

Knowledge and awareness concerning periodontal disease is still poor in Jordan, therefore, more dental health education is needed to improve oral health.

Private school children (31.4%) visited the dentist regularly more significantly than public school children (15.0%) (P < 0.001). However, the majority of children (public = 82.6%, private = 67.4%) attended the dentist only in an emergency. The main reason for irregular attendance was 'treatment not needed' (42.2%). About 43-44% of children had dental fear of 'low to moderate type', while the prevalence of 'high dental anxiety' was slightly higher among children of public (11.6%) than those of private schools (6.9%). Fear of specific stimuli (pain and trauma) was the most common source of dental fear reactions among 60-65% of children. The sight and sensation of an anaesthetic needle and sight, sound and sensation of the drill were the most fear eliciting stimuli. Moreover, public school children were found to be more anxious with a significantly higher 'overall dental fear' than private school children (P < 0.05).

This study demonstrated that nonsurgical periodontal therapy results in a significant reduction in the serum CRP level. The effect of this outcome on systemic disease is still unknown.

Thalassemia beta major is a hereditary hemolytic anemia disease with various grades of severity, which can be found with no or less globin chain qualitative synthesis. The patient often experiences hepatosplenomegaly, growth retardation and bone disorder and the thalassemia facies/chipmunk face appearance. The orofacial manifestations of beta thalassemia major are prominent cheek bones and protrusive premaxillae due to erythroid hyperplasia with depressed bridge of the nose. The dentition shows protrusion, flaring and spacing of the maxillary anterior teeth, open bite that leads to malocclusion. The anemic condition makes the patient is difficult to do all oral hygiene instruction thus caries index will increase. Dental practitioners especially pediatric dentists are required to have awareness towards the nature of the disease and its implication on dental care. Collaboration with hematologist has to be made in every dental treatment.

High susceptibility to depression does not play a significant role in the aetiology and severity of periodontitis in the population studied.

The aim of this study was to assess periodontal knowledge and periodontal status in 20-60-year-old adult population in northern Jordan. A convenient sample consisting of 722 adults was included in this study. A questionnaire incorporating items related to socio-demographic and periodontal knowledge questions was completed before clinical examination, using the Community Periodontal Index of Treatment Needs (CPITN). The results showed that the proportions of subjects who reported bleeding gums, gums' irritation, rough tooth surface and gum disease decreased steadily with age, there is an evident linear trend with high statistical significant difference among various age groups (P < 0.001). Furthermore, the proportions of subjects who answered correctly the periodontal knowledge questions related to plaque definition and its role in disease aetiology and prevention, decreased with age, with a high significant difference for all knowledge questions (P < 0.001). The prevalence of subjects with healthy periodontium (score 0) decreased with age, being 41.1% among 20-29-year-old group and 11.1% in 50-60-year-old group. Similar trend was seen for bleeding on probing (score 1) whilst calculus deposit (score 2) was the major problem in all age groups over 29 years. The prevalence of periodontal pockets was relatively low, with a range of 4.5-18.6% for shallow pockets (score 3) and 2.9-11.1% for deep pockets in younger and older age groups, respectively. Younger age group had more healthy sextants than older age groups. In addition, sextants with bleeding on probing were highest in 20-29-year-old age group (1.8) compared with that in 50-60-year-old age group (0.60) whilst those with calculus deposits varied slightly among different age groups (1.50-1.65). Sextants affected by shallow or deep pockets increased steadily with age. Such a finding was also noted in excluded sextants, with an increase from 0.15 at 20-29 year-old group to 0.94 at the age of 50-60 years. It is concluded that health knowledge and status related to periodontal disease is still poor in northern Jordan. Therefore, dental health education provision is necessary to improve oral health knowledge and conditions among population in general and among older population in particular.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between self-assessed gingival bleeding (GB) and clinically diagnosed gingival health among 12-14-year-old school children. A study group (982) comprising of school children aged 12-14 years was chosen by a simple random method from the five geographical areas in Irbid Governate, Jordan. All children completed a questionnaire related to self-assessment of GB after brushing before they had a clinical examination for oral hygiene and gingival condition using the criteria of Silness & Löe plaque index (1964) and Löe and Silness gingival index (1963). The results showed that the proportions of children who had self-assessed or clinically assessed GB increased gradually from 12 to 14 years of age with no significant difference (P > 0.05). There were significantly higher proportions of boys than girls who had self-assessed or were clinically assessed GB (P=0.02, 0.001). The mean plaque (1.83 +/- 0.54) and gingival scores (1.90 +/- 0.59) of children who reported GB were significantly higher than parallel scores of children without GB (1.27 +/- 0.62, 1.23 +/- 0.59), respectively (P < 0.001). There was a moderate correlation (r=0.501) between self-assessed GB and gingival health. In conclusion, there was a positive correlation between self-assessed GB and gingival health of 12-14-year-old children. Therefore, this may be beneficial for monitoring gingival health in children of, at least, developing countries.