Abstract
Dental caries persists as one of the most prevalent chronic diseases among children worldwide. This study aims to determine factors that influence dental caries in primary dentition among primary school children residing in the rural non-fluoridated community of Lithgow, New South Wales, Australia. A total of 495 children aged 5–10 years old from all the six primary schools in Lithgow were approached to participate in a cross-sectional survey prior to implementation of water fluoridation in 2014. Following parental consent, children were clinically examined for caries in their primary teeth, and parents were requested to complete a questionnaire on previous fluoride exposure, diet and relevant socio-demographic characteristics that influence oral health. Multiple logistic regression analysis was employed to examine the independent risk factors of primary dentition caries. Overall, 51 percent of children had dental caries in one or more teeth. In the multiple logistic regression analysis, child’s age (Adjusted Odd’s Ratio (AOR) = 1.30, 95% CI: 1.14–1.49) and mother’s extraction history (AOR = 2.05, 95% CI: 1.40–3.00) were significantly associated with caries experience in the child’s primary teeth. In addition, each serve of chocolate consumption was associated with 52 percent higher odds (AOR = 1.52, 95% CI: 1.19–1.93) of primary dentition caries.
Highlights
Dental caries is largely preventable, it is still one of the most prevalent chronic childhood diseases worldwide [1]
Among 495 children, it is seen that a significant half of children (50.6 percent) had one or more dmft scores, whereas 49.4 percentage did not have any dmft scores (Table 1)
The mean number of serves of chocolate and sugary drinks were found to be higher among children who had one or more dmft scores compared to those who were caries-free (Table 1)
Summary
Dental caries is largely preventable, it is still one of the most prevalent chronic childhood diseases worldwide [1]. It is caused by a complex time-dependent interaction between acid-producing bacteria and fermentable carbohydrates, resulting in demineralisation of inorganic component and dissolution of organic structure of the tooth, compromising the overall structure of tooth and often leading to cavitation [2]. In high-income countries such as Australia, the prevalence of dental caries has significantly decreased due to increase use of fluorides, improved oral hygiene, and a decreased frequency of sugar consumption [3]. Dental caries is an important public health issue since its lack of treatment leads to pain, repeated Dental caries has a wide spectrum of risk factors ranging from child’s gender, increasing age, lack of fluoride exposure, oral health behaviours, unhealthy dietary lifestyle such as use of sugar-sweetened beverages, low socio-economic status (SES), and maternal oral health [5,6,7].
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