Dental caries and periodontitis associated with betel quid chewing: analysis of two data sets.

BACKGROUND Not much research evidence concerning the relationship between betel quid chewing and oral health has been established although betel quid chewing is a common practice among people in many Asian countries including rural areas of Thailand. OBJECTIVE The present study employed two existing data sets to evaluate the association between betel quid chewing and oral diseases. MATERIAL AND METHOD The study populations for phase I comprised a total of 796 females, aged 30-89 years, residing in five districts of Khon Kaen province, Thailand during 1990-91. In phase II, there were 2,253 females, aged 31-86 years, residing in Chonnabot district, Khon Kaen province, Thailand during 1992-94, respectively. The data were obtained through oral examination and interview. The analyses employed descriptive, bivariate, and multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS Findings from final multivariable logistic regression models revealed the inverse relationship between betel quid chewing and dental caries adjusting for other variables. In addition, results from the final multivariable logistic regression models predicting periodontitis showed that betel quid chewing was directly associated with periodontitis in the presence of several confounding factors. The consistent findings from both data sets suggest that although betel quid chewing may reduce dental caries, it was directly related to periodontitis and enhanced the possibility of increasing tooth loss. CONCLUSION Therefore, preventive programs aiming at discouraging Thai people from chewing betel quid should be established to preserve favorable oral health.