[Evaluation of periodontal health of Congolese in consultation in dental services of Kinshasa City].

Context: Periodontal diseases are multifactorial infectious pathologies. They affect tissues of support of the tooth and so end in dental losses. No sector of society is spared.

Objective: To estimate the state of periodontal health of the patients admitted in consultation in the dental services of the city of Kinshasa.

Material and Methods: It is a descriptive and transverse study. It was led on patients admitted in consultations in three dental services of the city of Kinshasa during the period going from January to August, 2015. The study included patients of 12 years old and more who consulted in one of the selected dental service. The selected patients supplied sociodemographic information in particular zone of residence, gender, level of education and social level. Dutch Periodontal Screening Index (DPSI) was used to estimate the periodontal state of every patient.

Results: On a total of 642 patients 374 were females and 268 were males. The mean age was of 38.12 years ± 16,303. The patients of upper or more university level and those who had no employment represented successively 58.3% and 35.5%. Dental pain was the main motive for consultation. Majority of the patients had a DPSI around 3, that is 49.1%. 99.9% of the patients presented gingivitis whereas those 64% who suffered from periodontitis were subject to specialized periodontal care.

Conclusion: Periodontal disease was present in all patients. The majority of the people had consulted dental surgeons only when they had pain.