Prevalence and Associated Factors of Self-Reported Gingival Bleeding: A Multicenter Study in France

Abstract

Gingival bleeding (GB) is a common sign of gingival inflammation which indicates the presence of periodontal diseases. This cross-sectional multicenter survey aimed to assess the prevalence of self-reported gingival bleeding (SRGB) in French adults and identify the main associated factors. A questionnaire-based interview was randomly proposed to 794 individuals in four French cities (Nancy, Montpellier, Paris, and Rennes). Subjects were recruited in preventive medicine centers (50%), railway stations, and malls (50%). The questionnaire comprised 25 items: SRGB characteristics, socioeconomic variables, oral hygiene habits, use of drugs, and anxiety level. The overall prevalence of SRGB was 63.2% [59.8%; 66.6%], with 58.7% bleeding after toothbrushing and 4.5% spontaneous bleeding. Males reported significantly lower SRGB prevalence than females (p = 0.04). The distribution of SRGB frequency was inversely proportional to age (p < 0.0001). No association between drug use and SRGB was found. The people interviewed in the preventive medicine centers reported the highest frequency of SRGB (p < 0.0001). In the multivariate logistic model, SRGB was significantly related to occupation, smoking status, brushing frequency, and anxiety level. In conclusion, SRGB was prevalent in more than half of the sample and was mainly associated with age, toothbrushing frequency, and anxiety level. Thus, providing information to patients about the importance of this oral manifestation may play an important role in preventing periodontal diseases.

Self-reported oral hygiene habits and gingival bleeding in women with breast cancer: evidence from an observational and prospective study

“…Veynachter et al (2020) described the overall prevalence of gingival bleeding as 63.2%, mostly seen after tooth brushing and in women. Also, younger women had a higher frequency of self-reported gingival bleeding 11 , similar to what was observed in our investigation in the baseline segment. However, we asked whether women under age 50 were more likely to see gingival bleeding (if any) than women age 50 and over, which would change the association.…”

Risk Factors for Oral Health in Anorexia Nervosa: Comparison of a Self-Report Questionnaire and a Face-to-Face Interview

“…Consequently, the questions used to investigate these themes might be removed from a proposal of a short 10-item version of the questionnaire focused on the most reliable questions ( Table 4 ). In addition, one of the most reliable self-reported items in our study, i.e., gingival bleeding, has been found to be a valid approach to determining gingival status in the general population and there is no reason to suspect that this would not hold true in the AN population [ 33 ].…”

Relationship between the Social Development Index and Self-Reported Periodontal Conditions

“…The questionnaire included questions about the presence of concomitant systemic diseases, the daily intake of medication prescribed by a treating physician, a selfreport of their periodontal condition, their self-perception of gingivitis, dental care, and oral hygiene habits, and diet changes due to chewing problems, among others [53]. The questions related to oral and periodontal health had already been included in validated questionnaires in different populations before [54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66].…”

“…Bleeding gums is an early sign of gingival inflammation. It is the most straightforward self-recognition symptom by which subjects can auto-report and/or self-diagnose a present periodontal disease [59,62]. In turn, self-awareness of periodontal health status may influence oral-health-care-seeking behaviour, though this can be challenged by limited access to dental care, which is a known marker of health inequality, particularly in the context of the recent COVID-19 pandemic [76][77][78][79].…”