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Studying dental disease among Chennai residents

Sandhya Soman

Two students from Royal College of Surgeons in Glasgow find more people afflicted with periodontal diseases

PHOTO: R. SHIVAJI RAO

ALL SMILES: Jennifer Wales and Catriona Easton, students from Royal College of Surgeons in Glasgow, with Saveetha Dental College student S. Jayalakshmi.

Jennifer Wales and Catriona Easton spent three weeks at Saveetha Dental College to assess the severity of periodontal disease across a cross-section of persons, taking into consideration their age and gender.

These two students from Royal College of Surgeons in Glasgow say that though there are more tobacco users back home, the severity of this common dental ailment is more in Chennai.

They came to the conclusion after going through data sourced from hospital records of 200 patients based on examinations carried out by undergraduates between 2003 and 2005.

According to their project report, older men were more affected by this dental condition that affects all the supporting tissues of teeth. The disease, they say, is a common cause for tooth loss.

Jennifer points to the prevalence of smoking.

"We could find only one woman smoker among the case studies unlike in Glasgow where smoking is quite common among women," she says.

The duo had come to Chennai as part of an exchange programme between Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences and the Royal College of Surgeons, where they are doing their final-year BDS.

"We came here to find out the difference in the prevalence of periodontal diseases in Chennai and Glasgow," says Catriona.

The students noted not just age, sex and use of nicotine that play a role in causing periodontal disease but took into consideration oral hygiene also. Catriona says this included putting in perspective a variety of oral hygiene aids and the frequency of their use by patients.

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