¹uNIVERsITy OF NIŠ, FACuLTy OF MEDICINE, CLINIC OF DENTIsTRy
²HEALTH CENTRE SURDULICA, SERBIA

Introduction.  As gingivitis precedes periodontitis with the resultats poor outcome and loss of teeth, it poses a serious social and medical problem.
Aim. Our aim was to assess the prevalence of gingivitis in children, and to establish the association of gingival inflammation with accumulation of dental plaque.
Methods. Clinical examinations of the gingiva and detection of dental plaque were performed in children aged 12-18 years. The Cowell Index (CI) of gingival inflammation was used to assess the gingival status, while the plaque index (PI) by Silness-Löe was used to detect dental plaque (biofilm). Our representative sample consisted of 86 examinees.
Results. Out of the total number of examined children, there were 28 children (32.6%) with healthy gingiva. In the group of those with altered gingiva, 50 children (58.1%) had some milder forms of gingival change; 8 children (9.3%) had more severe gingival changes. All the examined children had their PI>0. Most children (47.7%) had PI in the  range 1-2; 36.0% children had PI in the range 2-3, and there were only 16.3% of children with PI 0-1.
Conclusion. The analysis of statistical data suggested that PI was directly proportional to GI. The median values of PI of 1.757 for the studied population correlated with the median values of GI of 1.894, which corresponded to the perceived gingival status.

Key words: gingivitis, dental plaque – biofilm, etiology of gingivitis