The prevalence of TDI in Georgian schoolchildren, as presented in this survey, population was found to be rather moderate and involved mainly minor superficial injuries. Rural communities have shown in this report substantial higher rates; thus, educational program might be directed mostly to these regions to children, teachers, and healthcare providers.

Objectives. The aim of the present pathfinder study was to screen and map the periodontal status of Georgian population in accordance with the guidelines of the World Health Organization for population based surveys.Methods. During 2012, a pathfinder study was conducted to collect this data. For the periodontal portion of the study, 15-year-old school children were examined in the capital city of Tbilisi as well as in two other large cities and 4 smaller villages. All participants were examined by a trained dental team in a classroom using a dental mirror and a periodontal probe. Periodontal examination included plaque scores, calculus scores, probing depth measurements and bleeding on probing. These measurements were recorded for the Ramfjord index teeth.Results. A total of 397 15-year-old participants were examined in this pathfinder study. There were 240 females (60.45%) and 157 males (39.55%). Of the total participants 196 (49.37%) were urban adolescents while 201 (50.63%) were from rural communities. Mean probing depth was 3.34 ± 0.57 mm with a range of 1 to 10 mm; a relatively high proportion (34.26%) of these subjects presented with at least one site with pockets of 5 mm or deeper. Males presented with greater plaque, calculus and probing depths than females. When urban and rural populations were compared, urban participants presented with more plaque, probing depths and bleeding on probing. Greater pocket depths were found to be related to the presence of plaque calculus and bleeding on probing.Conclusions. Overall, rather high incidences of periodontal pockets ≥ 5 mm were detected in this population. This data should serve to prepare further more detailed epidemiological studies that will serve to plan and implement prevent and treat strategies for periodontal diseases in Georgia and also help make manpower decisions.

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Background. Primary dentition takes the most important role in the development of permanent dentition. Primary second molars determine the eruption and position of permanent first molars. Early diagnosis and treatment could prevent the establishment of occlusal anomalies and deformities, therefore this study aimed to collect data about the prevalence of malocclusions based on the deciduous second molar terminal planes among the Tbilisi preschoolers. Methods. A total of 396 children aged 3-6 years, with an equal number of male and female subjects, were examined in kindergartens drawn from ten districts of Tbilisi, using the PPS (probability proportional to size) method. The relationship between distal surfaces of primary second molars was evaluated and recorded according to Baume’s classification. The significance level is 0.05 for all statistical tests. Results. Out of investigated preschoolers, 52.7% showed the flush terminal plane, followed by the distal step in 21.2% and mesial step in 26.1% of cases. There were no significant differences in genders. The most prevalent relationship between deciduous second molars was the flush terminal plane, with equal distribution in all age groups. The frequency of distal step decreased with age, more frequently recorded in the 3 to 4 year age group. The mesial step was mostly recorded in 3-4 and 5-6 year groups. Conclusion. The flush terminal plane is the most frequent molar relationship, followed by mesial and distal step. Prevalence of distal mesial step significantly decreased with age, while mesial step relationship showed the tendency to increase. The flush terminal plane showed little change with age.