Abstract
Objective: To compare prevalence of dental caries, oral hygiene status and associated risk factors of children in suburban and rural communities in the Southwest region of Nigeria. Material and Methods: Secondary data was extracted from cross-sectional researches conducted in two study locations involving 8 to 12 year olds. Data retrieved included age, gender, family structure, socioeconomic status, oral hygiene and dental caries. Caries assessment was done using WHO Oral Health Survey methods. Oral hygiene data was collected using Simplified Oral Hygiene Index (OHI-S) by Greene and Vermillion. Statistical significance was established at p<0.05. Results: The prevalence of dental caries in Group A and Group B study participants were 13.4% and 22.2% respectively. Children from rural community had significant higher caries prevalence (p=0.00) and poorer oral hygiene (P=0.00) compare with their counterparts in the suburban community. There was a significant association between oral hygiene, age and dental caries in suburban participants (p=0.02) while among the rural participants there was significant association between gender and dental caries (p=0.04). Children with poor oral hygiene have increased odds of having dental caries compared to children with good oral hygiene in the two study communities. Conclusion: Dental caries was more prevalent among the rural dwellers than the sub-urban dwellers. There is a need to make oral health care services/products available, accessible and affordable for the rural community.
Highlights
Dental caries still remains one of the most commonly occurring oral infections affecting children worldwide [1,2] and it is a major reason for absenteeism from school and loss of working hours by the parents [3,4].The aetiology of dental caries is multifactorial with many associated risk factors which include, but not limited to gender, parents’ socio-economic status and educational level, family structure, birth-rank, dietary pattern, consumption of refined carbohydrates between meals and oral hygiene practices [5,6,7].The greatest burden of oral diseases has been shown to be on the less advantaged and socially marginalized populations [8]
Dental caries was more prevalent among the rural dwellers than the sub-urban dwellers
Nine hundred and thirty-two and 465 children were screened for dental caries and oral hygiene status in the sub-urban (Group A) and rural (Group B) communities respectively
Summary
Dental caries still remains one of the most commonly occurring oral infections affecting children worldwide [1,2] and it is a major reason for absenteeism from school and loss of working hours by the parents [3,4].The aetiology of dental caries is multifactorial with many associated risk factors which include, but not limited to gender, parents’ socio-economic status and educational level, family structure, birth-rank, dietary pattern, consumption of refined carbohydrates between meals and oral hygiene practices [5,6,7].The greatest burden of oral diseases has been shown to be on the less advantaged and socially marginalized populations [8]. The aetiology of dental caries is multifactorial with many associated risk factors which include, but not limited to gender, parents’ socio-economic status and educational level, family structure, birth-rank, dietary pattern, consumption of refined carbohydrates between meals and oral hygiene practices [5,6,7]. While studies have shown decline in dental caries among the industrialized countries, the prevalence continues to increase in developing and low-income countries [9]. The decline in caries experience in high-income countries has been attributed to increased access to oral health care and preventive measures. The increase in caries experience in low-income, resourcepoor nations is believed to be due to an increase in refined sugar consumption, lack of prevention-oriented oral health systems with low availability or use of fluorides and lack of access to oral healthcare facilities among other things [10]
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