Abstract
Prevalence of geographic tongue, fissure tongue and partial ankyloglossia among students of three stages of school in Rasht in 2003
Dr. M. Rabiei*- Dr. Z. Mohtashamamiri**- Dr. Z. Amigh***- Dr. S.F. Ghotbirad***-Dr. S. Ahsani Tehrani***
 *- Assistant Professor of Oral Medicine Dept.-Faculty of Dentistry – Guilan University of Medical Sciences.
 **- Assistant Professor of Social Medicine Dept. - Faculty of Dentistry – Guilan University of Medical Sciences.
*** - Dentist.
Background and Aim: Different developmental anomalies in the forms of geographical tongue, fissured tongue and partial ankyloglossia are found in the oral cavity showing various prevalence rates in different societies. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence rates of geographic tongue, fissured tongue and partial ankyloglossia in students studying in three stages in Rasht and also to find out the relationship between these anomalies with sex and the increase of age.
Materials and Methods: In this cross – sectional descriptive study with a multi – stage cluster random sampling, a total number of 1561 students from all three stages of Rasht school, including 782 females and 779 males, were examined. The schools were selected randomly and about 730 students were examined in each cluster. The students were tested in an open space after removing lips and cheeks with a tongue blade. Demographic findings along with these gained through examination were recorded in a questionnaire. Data were subjected to X2 test and SPSS 10 software.
Results: The findings showed the prevalence rates of geographic tongue, fissured tongue and partial ankyloglossia as 7.6%, 4.3% and 7.8%, respectively. The increase of age played a significant role on the prevalence rate of fissured tongue (P=0.006). All anomalies were found to be more among males than females, however no significant relationship was observed between anomalies and sex.
 Conclusion: According to these findings, the prevalence rate of such anomalies is high in Rasht. Therefore, more investigations are suggested to find out the underlying reasons genetically and environmentally.
Key words: Geographic tongue – Fissured tongue – Partial ankyloglossia.