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Background Despite the interdependence of general and periodontal health, there is paucity of national representative data on the prevalence of periodontal diseases and their associated risk factors in Egyptian population. This cross-sectional study, thus, aimed to assess the prevalence of periodontitis and tooth loss among Egyptian adults and investigate the association between potential risk factors and periodontal diseases. Methods A total of 5,954 adults aged ≥ 20 years were included in this study as a subsample from Egypt’s national oral health survey. Periodontitis was diagnosed with Community Periodontal Index ‘CPI’ scores ≥3 and tooth loss not due to caries was included in the analysis. Socio-demographic data and information on behavioral factors and history of diabetes were gathered in a face-to-face interview. Logistic regression was done to interpret the impact of potential predictors on the incidence of the two selected outcome variables. Results The overall prevalence of periodontitis was 26% and regression analysis revealed that higher odds of periodontitis existed among illiterate participants (OR = 1.74; 95% CI: 1.40–2.17), smokers (OR = 1.93; 95% CI: 1.69–2.20) and rural residents (OR = 1.16; 95% CI: 1.03–1.30). On the other hand, old age, frequency of dental attendance and history of diabetes were the main predictive factors for tooth loss. Conclusions Among Egyptian adults, periodontal diseases were strongly associated with a multitude of modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors and inequalities in distribution of periodontal treatment needs were determined mainly by age, gender, level of education and residency location.