Plaque Levels Among Gender - A Retrospective Analysis Of Plaque Index Records

Dental plaque is a yellow-greyish substance which contains bacteria and attachment on tooth hard surfaces, including on restoration. Dental plaque can cause dental caries and periodontal disease. Dental plaque accumulation can easily form if there is no adequate dental plaque control. The purpose of this study is to investigate the gender difference in maintaining the oral hygiene by evaluating the plaque score. The study was conducted in a university set up sample consisting of all patients who underwent oral screening from June 2019 - April 2020, were examined and included in our data collection. A total of 1240 case sheets were reviewed. The standard index used in the study is Silness and Loe Plaque Index. The statistical analysis was done using SPSS software (SPSS version 21.0, SPSS, Chicago II, USA). The data was analysed using a chi- square test. The p value of less than 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. 16.9% of males had good plaque scores, 46.1% had fair plaque scores and 36.9% had poor plaque scores. Nearly 27.8% of females had good plaque scores, 58.7% had fair plaque scores, 13.5% had poor plaque scores. It was observed that plaque accumulation was more in males when compared to females and this was statistically significant. (p value- 0.00<0.05) Within the limitations of the study, it was observed that females had notably better oral hygiene status when compared to the males.