Regional Disparities in the Prevalence of Probing Depths and Tooth Loss in Germany—Results From the German National Cohort ( NAKO )
AIM: To evaluate regional disparities in the prevalence, severity and extent of probing depths (PDs) as well as tooth loss in German adults aged 19-74, using data from the baseline study of the German National Cohort (NAKO; 2014-2019). METHODS: Dental examinations were recorded at two levels: Level 1 (18/18 centres; N = 184,871; tooth counts including third molars and dental interview) and Level 2 (8/18 centres, not geographically representative; N = 18,389; recording of PDs). We evaluated differences by sex, age and study region. All data were survey-weighted. For individuals aged 65-74, we supplemented tooth loss data from the Fifth German Oral Health Study and the Study of Health in Pomerania. RESULTS: Among Level 1 participants, the prevalence of edentulism was 1.7% (95% confidence interval: 1.6-1.9). The average mean PD was 1.89 mm (1.87-1.91). Both edentulism and PDs increased with increasing age. There were clear regional disparities, with the lowest prevalence of both in Augsburg/Regensburg in the south (1.3% and 1.64 mm) and the highest in Neubrandenburg in the north-east (2.3% and 2.31 mm). CONCLUSION: Clear regional disparities emerged. In light of demographic changes, these results highlight the importance of incorporating region-specific oral health burdens into future healthcare planning and treatment concepts.
Authors
- Karin Halina Greiser (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3213-8285)
- Katrin Hertrampf (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1589-0619)
- Birte Holtfreter (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6541-3127)
- Stefan Lars Reckelkamm (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5273-7288)
- Henry Völzke (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7003-399X)
- Ghazal Aarabi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5484-2594)
- Sabine Schipf (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2700-5317)
- Claudia Meinke‐Franze (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6137-9702)
- Wolfgang Rathmann (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7804-1740)
- Philipp Kanzow (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2169-561X)
- Michael F. Leitzmann (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0371-2789)
- Nicole Pischon
- Börge Schmidt (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6948-7273)
- Stefanie Samietz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1817-6755)
- Matthias B. Schulze (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0830-5277)
- Katrin Borof
- Rainer A. Jordan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9710-3094)
- Yvonne Kemmling
- Thomas Kocher (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9605-2822)
- Tobias Pischon (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1568-767X)
- Stefan Rach (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5241-0253)
- Antonio Ciardo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2181-3505)
- Stefan Rupf (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1551-9935)
- Nadia Obi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0903-9142)
- Daniel Hagenfeld (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1072-4865)
- Jan Kühnisch (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4063-2291)
- Kathrin Kuhr (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9214-4516)
- Sebastian‐Edgar Baumeister (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9391-6602)
- Regina Pickford
- Rafael Mikolajczyk (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1271-7204)
- Lilian Krist (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6089-5163)
- Alexander Welk (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0279-6239)
- Stefan N. Willich (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-1270-2597)
- Asma’a Alselwi
- Martin Wojciechowsky (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-2476-5890)
- Ti‐Sun Kim (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-3539-7211)
- Jana Gortschakow (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-1593-238X)
- Dominic Sasunna (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-2225-9319)
Institutions
- Cologne Institute for Economic Research (DE)
- Universität Hamburg (DE)
- Zimmer Biomet (Netherlands) (NL)
- University of Potsdam (DE)
- German Cancer Research Center (DE)
- Max Delbrück Center (DE)
- Heidelberg University (DE)
- University of Münster (DE)
- Universitätsmedizin Greifswald (DE)
- Luther University (KR)
- Helmholtz Zentrum München (DE)
- Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (DE)
- University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (DE)
- University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein (DE)
- Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology - BIPS (DE)
- Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (DE)
- Berlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin (DE)
- Deutsches Diabetes-Zentrum e.V. (DE)
- Diagnostic and Treatment Centre Berlin (DE)
- German Institute of Human Nutrition (DE)
- Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (DE)
- University of Regensburg (DE)
- University of Duisburg-Essen (DE)
- Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (DE)
- Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (DE)
- Saarland University (DE)
- University of Lübeck (DE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal Of Clinical Periodontology
- Published
- 2026-09-18
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpe.70201
- Primary Topic
- Dental Health and Care Utilization
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00