Evaluation of Periodontal Tissues Condition in Undergraduate Medical Students with Different Anxiety Levels

Abstract

The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between the level of anxiety with periodontal tissue lesions in undergraduate students at a medical university. Observations were performed by medical students of the second year of study. There was used H. Ayzenko’s questionnaire to determine the level of personal anxiety. The evaluation of the condition of periodontal tissues was performed using the appropriate indexes: the papillary-marginal-alveolar index, the periodontal index, the Schiller-Pisarev’s test (Svrakov’s iodine number), and sulcus bleeding index. The results of the study showed a direct dependence of the manifestation of periodontal tissue diseases on the level of psycho-emotional stress. Analyzing the PMA index it was noted that the higher level of anxiety, the higher number of this index and, accordingly, the more distinct signs of inflammation are clear: with low level – 4.63±2.58%, with an average level – 28.42±1.29% and at a high level – 41.6±2.46%. The quantitative significance of the periodontal index also depends on the degree of anxiety in the students: the lowest rate was in the students of group І with a low level of anxiety (0.15±0.08); the indices of groups ІІ and ІІІ are 0.97±0.04 and 1.35±0.07 respectively. The Schiller-Pisarev’s test showed that the higher anxiety level of students has the higher number of this index. Analyzing the data of index of gum’s bleeding, there was observed an increase in it, depending on the degree of anxiety (p<0.001).

Keywords

• psycho-emotional stress
• anxiety
• medical students