Abstract
BackgroundDental caries are a global public health problem and influence the overall health of children. The risk factors for caries include biological, socio-behavioral and environmental factors. This cross-sectional study assessed dental caries and their associations with socioeconomic factors, oral hygiene practices and eating habits among Emirati and non-Emirati children in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE).MethodsThe stratified sample comprised children aged 18 months to 4 years recruited from 7 nurseries. The World Health Organization (WHO) decayed, missing and filled teeth index (dmft) was used to analyze the dental status of the children. Parents completed a questionnaire regarding demographics, food consumption and oral habits. The study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee at Zayed University, UAE (ZU15_029_F).ResultsA total of 186 children with a mean age of 2.46 years, of which 46.2% were Emirati, participated. Overall, 41% of the children had dental caries. The mean dmft±SD was 1.70 ± 2.81 with a mean ± SD decayed component (dt) of 1.68 ± 2.80 and mean ± SD filled component (ft) of 0.02 ± 0.19. Emirati children showed higher mean dmft, Plaque Index and Significant Carries Index values than non-Emirati children (P < 0.000). Low maternal education, rural nursery location, infrequent tooth-brushing, frequent consumption of high-sugar food items and Emirati nationality were factors significantly associated with dental caries.ConclusionsIn this study, 4 out of 10 nursery children were found to have dental caries. Sociodemographic factors, dietary and oral health habits were associated with dental caries. Effective oral health interventions tailored to improve eating habits and the dental screening of children in this age group are imperative to mitigate these concerns.
Highlights
Dental caries are a global public health problem and influence the overall health of children
One-third of the children (34.4%) were enrolled in nurseries located in urban areas, 36.6% in nurseries located in suburban areas and 29.0% in nurseries located in rural areas
The univariate analysis revealed that Emirati nationality, low maternal education, rural geographic location of the nursery, and frequent consumption of high-sugar food items were associated with caries in this study population
Summary
Dental caries are a global public health problem and influence the overall health of children. The risk factors for caries include biological, socio-behavioral and environmental factors. This cross-sectional study assessed dental caries and their associations with socioeconomic factors, oral hygiene practices and eating habits among Emirati and non-Emirati children in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Some studies have found an association between tooth-brushing and lower caries prevalence, the findings are inconsistent [7, 9, 10]. Socioeconomic factors such as income, education level and family size impact disease prevalence [11,12,13,14]. Children from urban areas experience a higher prevalence of dental caries, in contrast to industrialized countries, where the highest caries rates have been observed among deprived social groups and ethnic minorities [2, 15]
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