OBJECTIVES: To analyze the current profile of oral health status of 35-44 year old adults in urban and rural areas in Turkey. METHODS: Proportional stratified sampling method was applied as a sampling procedure through Turkish Statistical Council in this national study. The urban/rural ratio was based on the recent population census and at least 6 persons from each of 250 sampling sites were included. The study population reached 1,083 urban and 548 rural adults. The survey was applied by 27 trained and calibrated dental students with the recordings of coronal and root caries, treatment needs, Community Periodontal Index (CPI) and attachment loss according to WHO (1997) criteria; structured interviews concerning socio-demographic factors and oral health behaviors were performed. RESULTS: About 14.5% of 35-44 year old adults have not possessed a tooth brush and 7.6% of subjects who had a tooth brush were not brushing their teeth. Dentist attendance in the previous 12 months was higher in urban than rural areas (p<0.034), and this was also related with literacy (p< 0.002). Health insurance was more common among urban participants than rural (p<0.011). In urban areas, the mean DMFT was 10.8±6.7 compared to 12.1±7.4 in rural areas. The prevalence of root caries was 18.1% in urban areas while 24.0% in rural areas. No differences were found for edentulousness due to place of residence, having 21 or more teeth and mean number of missing teeth whereas decayed and filled teeth were higher in urban areas. Edentulousness was not related with educational level.Urban people had healthier periodontal tissues according to CPI (p<0.000) and rural participants had more attachment loss (p<0.000). CONCLUSION: The results illustrated poor oral health and showed extremely high demand for the oral health services programs in order to improve the oral health dtatus for both urban and rural Turkish adults.

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