The present study was aimed at assessing the periodontal status and risk factors like age, gender, tooth brushing habit, and smoking among the adult population of Sebha city, Libya. 452 adults, aged 35–54 years, comprised the study sample. 266 (58.84%) were females and 186 (41.15%) were males. Data was collected by interview and clinical examination using CPI of CPITN index. Chi-square test and ANOVA were used for statistical analysis at 5% level of significance. Results indicate that 76.32% used toothbrush and paste; 8.84% were current smokers and were all males. Majority, 52.65% were, detected with shallow pockets followed by 30.08% with calculus, 12.17% had deep pockets, 3.31% had bleeding, and only 1.33% were healthy. Age, gender, current smoking status and frequency of tooth brushing showed statistically significant difference with CPI codes. Health professionals can utilize this data to identify individuals at risk and to target population level interventions.

This study aimed to assess toothbrushing behavior and descriptively analyze the effect of age and gender. Two thousand and six people from the city of Sebha, Libya, aged 1 to 64 years (mean age 26.9 ± 11.6 years, 1,463 females and 543 males) constituted the study sample. Data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire. Overall, 85.3% were using a toothbrush and toothpaste as a cleaning aid, whereas 6.3% never brushed their teeth. Only 36.1% brushed twice daily. Age and gender were significantly associated with use of a toothbrush and frequency of toothbrushing. This data serves as a baseline to implement a "preventive self-care instruction program."