Dental health in the adult population of Arkhangelsk: а study protocol

BACKGROUND: The Arkhangelsk region is characterized by a high prevalence and intensity of dental diseases among adults, but most of the studies were either hospital-based or used small samples with questionable representativeness.

AIM: This article is a protocol of an original study, the purpose of which is to assess the dental status and its association with somatic health in a representative sample of the adult population of Arkhangelsk.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: In 2022, a cross-sectional study “Prevalence of dental pathology among the population of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation (using the example of Arkhangelsk) and associated characteristics of the microbiome of the intestine and the respiratory tract” (hereinafter referred to as the dental study) was conducted in Arkhangelsk. The dental study was a part of the study “Molecular and genetic markers of the response to coronavirus infection and changes in the human microbiota and metabolome during the COVID-19 pandemic” (hereinafter referred to as the study on the effects of COVID-19). Data collection for the study was carried out from October 3 to November 10, 2022 at the Northern State Medical University. The study involved 463 adults aged 42–76 years living in the city of Arkhangelsk, representing a random sample of the adult population who had previously taken part in the “Know Your Heart” project in 2015–2017. All participants were asked to undergo an additional dental examination. The response rate was 91.6%. The dental examination included a questionnaire, assessment of dental status as recommended by the World Health Organization (2013), assessment of oral hygiene and gum inflammation, dental aesthetic index (DAI), collection of gingival fluid, autofluorescence stomatoscopy (AFS), examination by an orthodontist with periotestometry, performing a photo protocol, conducting biometrics of plaster models. When indicated, participants were asked to undergo an in-depth diagnostic to identify orthodontic pathology, namely, teleradiography and a cone-beam computed tomography.

EXPECTED RESULTS: The proposed study using validated instruments and a representative sample has a major strength in providing unbiased assessment of the prevalence of oral health conditions in Arkhangelsk in the studied age group. Moreover, the material collected in this study has a potential to provide a unique opportunity to assess the associations between dental health and somatic health, lifestyle, microbiota, and metabolome since the data on the abovementioned characteristics were collected during the other projects and stored in a biobank.