Abstract
Dental caries and periodontal disease increase with age. Many junior high school and high school students have contracted these diseases in recent years in Japan. Approximately 70% of students had already contracted gingivitis by junior high school. It is reported that the appearance of periodontal disease with alveolar bone absorption of an adult type has been seen in high school students. The current state of oral health management and oral health education in junior high schools cannot be considered adequate. Therefore, it is necessary to consider preventive measures for dental caries and periodontal disease at the junior and senior high school levels. We have been investigating high school student's dental disease assessments, lifestyle, and oral health behavior since 1993. It was considered that we need to investigate not only the oral health behavior and lifestyle, but also analyze the risks for prevention of dental caries and periodontal disease at the high school level. In this study, a cross-sectional study of high school students was performed on dental caries, the periodontal disease statement, and five types of risk tests as follows; salivary flow, number of mutans streptococci, number of lactobacilli, buffer capacity of saliva, and concentration of salivary occult blood. The school year comparison of the dental disease statements and the risk tests was performed, and the relationship between them was examined. As a result, a clear difference was not observed in the risk test results and dental caries among school years although periodontal disease increased gradually at the high school level. In both male and female students, a high correlation was observed between dental caries statement and the caries risk test results, specifically in terms of number of mutans streptococci and number of lactobacilli. Furthermore in female students, there was a strong correlation between dental caries statement and the buffer capacity of saliva, and also between PMA and the concentration of salivary occult blood.
