Prevalence, etiology and clinical characteristics of gingival recession in a sample of adult Egyptian dental patients: a cross sectional study.

Background: Gingival recession (GR) is a common oral health condition characterized by the exposure of the tooth's root which affects diverse populations worldwide. Thus, this study aimed to analyze data from adult dental patients at the outpatient clinic of the Faculty of Dentistry, Ain Shams University, to assess the prevalence of GR among Egyptian adults and to identify associated risk factors and clinical characteristics.

Materials and methods: This study was a cross-sectional study that included 3773 individuals to detect the prevalence, risk factors and clinical characteristics of GR. All participants were examined for presence of GR, and their demographic data was collected by electronic form, while only participants who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were then subjected to a full professional periodontal examination. GR was categorized following the 2018 World Workshop Cairo classification system (RT1, RT2, RT3). The statistical tests used were Kruskal-Wallis and Dunn's post hoc with Bonferroni correction, as well as Fisher's exact test followed by pairwise comparisons using multiple z-tests with Bonferroni correction.

Results: Out of 3773 participants only 901 subjects had GR with a prevalence of 23.88%. The prevalence of localized recession (63.93%) was higher than generalized recession (36.07%) with RT1 (43.8%) being the most prevalent followed by RT2 (37.29%), and RT3 (18.87%). The most affected teeth were lower anterior teeth (46.53%) followed by upper left premolars (13.02%), then upper right premolars (11.11%), and upper anterior teeth (10.76%). The prevalence of GR was higher in males (59.6%) more than in females (40.4%), and in smokers (61.49%) more than non-smokers (38.51%). The most common medical conditions were diabetes mellitus and hypertension. Higher severity of the GR was associated with males, middle aged and old age, periodontal diseases, higher plaque and bleeding scores, medical conditions, smoking, and uneducated patients.

Conclusions: The prevalence of GR in Egyptians is 23.88% with the most prevalent class of was RT1. Higher severity of the GR was associated with periodontal diseases, higher plaque and bleeding scores, presence of underlying medical conditions and smoking suggesting that regular dental assessments as well as dentists' awareness of the prevention, and treatment of GR has to be increased.