Socio-economic and health status as a predictor of apical periodontitis in adult patients in Croatia

Objective A few studies focused on determinants of apical periodontitis other than technical or biological factors. This research aimed to investigate to what extent socio-economic and health status can predict apical periodontitis in adult patients. Subjects and Methods The cross-sectional study included 599 adult patients. Medical history, health habits and socio-economic status of each participant were recorded using a self-administered structured questionnaire. For caries detection, the World Health Organization diagnostic thresholds were used, and oral hygiene level was estimated using plaque index. Periapical index system was used to analyse the periapical status of all teeth. Dental, socio-economic and health-related variables were tested against dependent variable (periapical disease ratio) in a multiple linear regression analysis. Results Dental independent variables explained 71.7% of the observed variation in periapical disease ratio (R-2 = 0.717; p 0.001). Periapical disease ratio increased with the increase in number of carious teeth, plaque index and number of root-filled teeth, but also with decrease in number of coronal fillings (all p < 0.001). Socio-economic and health-related variables accounted for lower portion of variability, 15.5% and 12.9%, respectively (both p 0.001). Conclusions Dental variables are more important predictors of periapical status than socio-economic and health-related variables.