Abstract

Many health problems of Yemen have been associated with khat. There is a wide spread belief that periodontal disease is more severe in khat chewers than non-chewers.  The present investigation was designed to examine tooth mortality and the patterns of tooth loss in khat chewer and non- khat chewer in a selected population in Sana’a -Yemen. A total of 2506 individuals, 1216 males and 1290 females ranging in age from 15 to 64 years were examined.  The status of every present permanent tooth was assessed.  Individuals who chewed one or two times a week for five years were considered as khat chewer.  Individuals with no khat chewing history or chewed less than 5 times in their lifetimes were considered as non-chewer. Female khat chewers had significantly higher teeth loss compared to other sub-groups, irrespective of whether they chewed khat or not. In the 15 to 24 age category, there was no significant difference between male khat and non- khat chewers. Female khat chewers had the highest teeth loss in this age group and it was significantly higher than any other sub-group in this age group. Male khat chewers also had significantly higher teeth loss compared to male non- khat chewers. Female khat chewers had a significantly more lower teeth loss than female non- khat chewers. Present study has shown that khat chewing is a one of the risk factors associated with teeth loss. Khat chewers had significantly higher tooth loss as compared to non khat-chewers. Female khat chewers had a significantly higher teeth loss compared to non- khat chewers (especially in age group 55 to 64).  Male khat -chewers had significantly more lower teeth loss compared to other groups.

Key words: Tooth mortality, Khat- chewers, Khat- nonchewers, Yemen.