High fruit consumption and the periodontal status of farm workers.

The results of a study on the periodontal health of orchard and vineyard workers on apple, grape, citrus and mixed-variety fruit farms are presented. Workers on grain farms were used as controls. The only significant differences in the diets of the different groups were the very large amounts of fresh fruits eaten by the fruit-farm workers. The CPITN index was used to record the periodontal status. Healthy periodontal sextants (code 0) were significantly less in the citrus group (P less than 0.05) compared to the other groups. However, this group also showed a significantly (p less than 0.05) lower prevalence of deep periodontal pockets than the other groups.