High Caries Levels Research Articles

Dental health of preschool children after two-years of a supervised tooth brushing program in Southern Israel

BackgroundSupervised tooth brushing is an important part of leading national oral health improvement programs in different countries.With the cessation of water fluoridation in 2014, a new program was immediately required to provide community-based caries prevention, especially amongst young children.The aim of this study was to determine whether a supervised tooth brushing program (STBP) in kindergartens could reduce dental caries amongst preschool children, when compared with children from the same community who did not participate in the program. The study was performed 2 years after the start of the program.MethodsTwo Jewish and two Arab local authorities (one participating and one control) were randomly chosen. In each local authority, 4 kindergartens (children aged 5) were randomly chosen, giving a total of 16 kindergartens. Children in the intervention group brushed once daily at kindergartens, with fluoridated toothpaste, for two school- years. All the children were examined using the WHO Oral Health Survey Methods Ed.4.ResultsTwo hundred eighty-three five-year-old children were examined, 157 of them Jewish (86 participants in STBP, 71 non-participants) and 126 Arab (59 vs 67 respectively). Among Jewish children, the fraction of untreated decayed teeth was 61% in the participant group and 65% for non-participants, and amongst the Arab children 69% vs. 90% respectively. The fraction of treated decayed teeth for the participant group was 37% compared to 29% for the non-participants among Jewish children, whilst for the Bedouin group it was 23% vs. 8% respectively.ConclusionsAfter 2 years, supervised tooth brushing with fluoride toothpaste shows a favorable effect. This study suggests that dental health of children participating in STBP was better than the control group. Fewer carious teeth and more treated carious lesions were recorded in this group. This program can be applied to low SES communities nationwide.Guidelines for fluoride concentration in toothpaste for children should be re-considered based on high caries levels.

Early Childhood Caries in Victorian Preschoolers: A Cross-Sectional Study

AimThe objective of this work was to determine the prevalence of early childhood caries (ECC) in children attending preschools that are enrolled in the Smiles 4 Miles health promotion program in Victoria and determine the sociodemographic variables associated with ECC.Materials and methodsA cross-sectional sample of 1,845 3- to 5-year-old children attending 61 preschools was selected by stratified cluster sampling. Dental caries was classified as non-cavitated/early lesions (d1-2), cavitated (d3-6) lesions, and cavitated/non-cavitated (d1-6) lesions using the International Caries Detection and Assessment System. A self-administered parental questionnaire captured sociodemographic and behavioural data. Multivariate logistic regression and Poisson mixed model analysis was used to examine associations amongst sociodemographic variables, child oral health behaviours, and decayed tooth surfaces.ResultsIn all, 56.6% (n = 1,044) of the children had ECC; more than one-third (36.6%) presented exclusively non-cavitated/early lesions, 5.7% solely cavitated lesions, and 14.2% both. Children from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds had higher levels of dental caries. Parental pensioner/health care card status (incidence rate ratio [IRR] = 1.76, 95% CI, 1.57-1.97), non-English-speaking background (IRR = 2.09, 95% CI, 1.80-2.43), and Indigenous status (IRR = 1.91, 95% CI, 1.50-2.43) were associated with higher rates of cavitated lesions. Children who consumed soft drinks once or more per week had 1.66 times more cavitated lesions (95% CI, 1.48-1.86) compared to children who never/rarely consumed soft drinks. Soft drink consumption of once or more per week was associated with parental health care/pensioner card status (odds ratio [OR] = 1.73, 95% CI, 1.36-2.18), non-English-speaking background (OR = 1.58, 95% CI, 1.11-2.27), and Indigenous status (OR = 1.92, 95% CI, 1.04-3.52).ConclusionsHigher levels of more severe caries rates in children from socioeconomically disadvantaged background highlight an opportunity for early preventive interventions targeting these groups.

Oral Health Status of the Refugee Population in Utah

A refugee is a person that “owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his or her nationality and is unable to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country” [1]. Among refugees, one of the most common health problems reported by US organizations after initial screening is oral healthrelated [2]. Previous research reported high levels of untreated caries, periodontal disease, orofacial disease and disabilities among refugees [2-4].

Caries experience in caregiver-intellectual deficient pair: Influence of caregiver's psychological morbidity.

Evaluate how determinants of psychological morbidity were associated with dental caries experience in the caregiver-intellectual deficient pair. A cross-sectional study with 299 pair, who had their oral health status assessed using the DMFT index (decayed, missing and filled teeth). Symptoms of anxiety, depression, stress, quality of sleep, and socioeconomic variables were measured in caregivers. Adjusted prevalence ratios were estimated using Poisson regression with the caregiver and children's caries index as outcome. The average prevalence of DMFT/dmft was 7.48 (SD ± 3.9) for students with ID and DMFT was 14.7 (SD ± 8.1) for their caregivers. For the caregiver's oral health, the following psychic comorbidities were associated with worse oral health condition: anxiety (PR=1.48; 95%CI 1.07-2.06), depression (PR=1.39; 95%CI 1.05-1.85), high level of stress (PR=1.58; 95%CI 1.17-2.13) and sleep disorders (PR=1.59; 95%CI 1.18-2.14). For people with ID, the caregiver's psychic comorbidities also showed association with a worse oral health condition, including anxiety (PR=1.31; 95%CI 1.03-1.74), depression (PR=1.28; 95%CI 1.01-1.67) and high level of stress (PR=1.63; 95%CI 1.14-2.32), as well as mother's high level of DMFT (PR=1.96; 95%CI 1.28-3.03). Symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress were associated with higher levels of dental caries experience for caregivers and for people with intellectual disabilities.

Oral health status of patients with repaired cleft lip and palate: A prospective study

Purpose: To determine the oral hygiene habits, levels of dental caries, and periodontal condition of patients with repaired cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P) in Central Vietnam. Materials and Methods: A total of 78 patients (1–54 years old; median: 6 years) with CL/P were examined for dental caries, gingivitis and periodontitis using the decayed, missing, and filled teeth (dmft/DMFT) index, gingival bleeding on probing and periodontal pocket depth. Data about dental visits, brushing habits and socioeconomic status were collected. Results: A majority of patients brushed their teeth at least once a day with fluoride dentifrice but did not floss. The caries prevalence was 87.2%. The dmft of patients aged ≤ 5 years and 6–12 years were 7.4 and 9.0. The DMFT of patients aged 6–12 years, and ≥ 13 years were 1.6, and 6.7; the difference was statistically significant (p < 0.05). The percentages of patients who had bleeding on probing and had periodontal pocket depth 3.5–5.5 mm were 57.7% and 5.3%, respectively. Conclusions: Patients with repaired CL/P in Central Vietnam had a very high level of caries and had signs of gingivitis but not periodontitis. It is recommended to implement dental care in the treatment protocol for patients with CL/P.

Caries distribution pattern in primary dentition in children in early childhood from the Warsaw agglomeration

Introduction. The high incidence and level of early childhood caries (ECC) in children aged 3 years in Poland indicate a high risk of developing this disease in younger children. Caries most often develops on the occlusal surfaces of molars. The distribution of caries in primary dentition changes with age. In younger children, the maxillary incisors are most often affected by caries, while in the older ones – molars. There are no current data describing caries distribution in younger children in Poland. Aim. Assessment of caries distribution, taking into account the surface in primary dentition in children in the second and third year of life from the Warsaw agglomeration. Material and methods. This was a cross-sectional study conducted among children aged 12-36 months to assess dental condition for the presence of non-cavitated (d1) and cavitated caries (d2), fillings (f), and missing (m) teeth (t) and surfaces (s) caused by caries. The frequency of ECC and its intensity (d1d2mft and d1d2mfs) were determined. In the statistical analysis, the chi-square test was used to compare the fractions (percentages). Results. A total of 496 children were examined, including 262 (52.8%) boys. S-ECC was recorded in 44.8% of the respondents, d1d2mft and d1d2mfs reached the values of 2.62 ± 3.88 and 4.46 ± 8.42, respectively. Central maxillary incisors (34.2%) and the first molars of both arches (21.0%, including 23.5% for the maxilla and 18.6% for the mandible) were most commonly affected by carious lesions. Carious lesions were most often found on the labial surfaces of the maxillary incisors (19.1%) and occlusal first molars (19.4%). Conclusions. Primary teeth caries in the early childhood period is characterized by a rapid transformation of non-cavitated lesions into cavitated ones and subsequent eruption of teeth. Carious lesions most are most often found on the labial surfaces of the central incisors of the maxilla and occlusal surfaces of the first molars.

Dental caries in primary teeth during early childhood in the Warsaw agglomeration

Introduction. The high incidence and level of Early Childhood Caries (ECC) in children aged 3 in Poland indicate a high risk of developing this disease in younger children. There are no data describing the scale of the problem in Poland. Aim. Determining the prevalence and level of severe early childhood caries (S-ECC), the needs of conservative treatment in children in the second and third year of life from the Warsaw agglomeration. Material and methods. A cross-sectional study of children aged 12-36 months was carried out after obtaining the consent of the Bioethics Committee of the Medical University of Warsaw. The presence of non-cavitated (d1) and cavitated caries (d2), fillings (f), and missing teeth (t) and surfaces (s) caused by caries (m), periodontal abscesses and fistulas was assessed. The frequency of ECC and its intensity (d1d2mft and d1d2mfs), conservative treatment index (f/f + d) were determined. In the statistical analysis, the chi-square test was used to compare the fractions. Results. 496 children were examined, including 262 (52.8%) boys. S-ECC was recorded in 44.8% of the respondents, d1d2mft and d1d2mfs reached the values of 2.62 ± 3.88 and 4.46 ± 8.42. The incidence and level of S-ECC increased with age. The greatest increase was seen in the subgroup > 18 to 24 months. The main components of d1d2mft were the teeth with caries (d). Abscesses and fistulas were diagnosed in 15 (3%) patients. The treatment indexes increased from 0 in the youngest to 0.08 in the oldest age group. Conclusions. Caries of primary teeth in the early childhood period is characterized by a rapid transformation of non-cavitated lesions into cavitated ones and subsequent eruption of teeth. With medical negligence, complications result in tooth loss. The greatest increase in the frequency and level of caries is observed in the second half of the second year of life, therefore, early home and professional prevention is essential.

Pattern of oral diseases and associated contributing factors in pregnant women attending a maternity center in Dhaka city, Bangladesh

Background: Oral health care in pregnancy is often neglected by women and is also not appropriately addressed by prenatal and other health care providers and justify appropriate attention. The purpose of this cross sectional study was to describe percentage of oral disease occurrence and underlying causes in this sample of pregnant women.
 Methods: The study included 147 women aged between 15 to 49 years receiving prenatal care at the outdoor department of Azimpur Maternal and Child Health Training Institute in Dhaka, Bangladesh were invited to participate in this study from January 2013 to April 2013. Semi-structured interviews were conducted for data collection. Clinical exam data were recorded using validated scales in a special form.
 Results: Majority (72%) of the women were between 20 to 24 years. 57% had secondary school education. 88% of the women were unemployed and 52% women had very low family income of BOT s;10000. More than 90% of the women had good oral hygiene practices. However, 68% liked to have sugary snacks or drinks in between main meals, 7% visited their dentists during pregnancy , only 3% received advice for routine oral health screening from their prenatal care providers and only 4% women started their antenatal check-up during first trimester. All these negative influences might expose expecting mothers to high level of dental caries (54%), dental erosion (52%), gingivitis (100%) and periodontitis (27%). This study also showed that majority of the women acquired oral health information through watching television (61%) or reading newspaper (12%) while only 4% received information from doctors/dent ists throughout their lifetime.
 Conclusion: The undertaken research highlighted the importance of using media in modifying Bangladeshi pregnant woman's behaviours toward oral health. It also emphasizes the need for inclusion of oral health preventive programme as part of pre and postnatal care. Further study in this area on a large scale will facilitate formulation of appropriate oral health policy to achieve satisfactory oral and general health outcomes during pregnancy and ensure optimum oral health conditions of their offspring.
 JOPSOM 2020; 39(1): 50-59

Dietary Consumption and Its Association with Dental Caries in Schoolchildren in Benghazi, Libya

Abstract Introduction: Dental caries is a common public health problem among schoolchildren. Diet can affect oral health via many ways. Several researches have established that dietary factors are directly related to dental caries. Aims: To investigate the prevalence of dental caries in a group of schoolchildren in Benghazi, Libya, and its possible association with gender and diet. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study design was used among public schoolchildren in Benghazi, Libya. A random sample of 12-year-old school children within randomly selected schools underwent dental examination and completed a questionnaire to provide dietary data. This questionnaire was based on the one previously used in the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey (2000). Dental caries was assessed using the World Health Organization criteria. Associations between caries and dietary variables under study were investigated through processes of bivariate and multivariate analyses. Results: About 62% had experience of dental caries. A higher experience of caries was observed among girls than boys (Fisher's exact test; P < 0.05). Consumption frequency of sugared drinks and foods was higher in girls (P < 0.001). Conclusions: Over two-thirds of the subjects had dental caries. The high level of dental caries is a cause for concern. Interestingly, more caries was noticed in girls than in boys. Apparently, sugared drinks, which were consumed more by girls, were the main source of total dietary sugared consumption. The consumption of sugared drinks was high, and efforts are required to reduce it.

Untreated dental trauma among homeless people in Midwest Brazil.

Homeless people are usually more exposed to traumatic events that may cause dental injuries than those with more stable housing. Previous studies on the oral health condition of this population group have shown high levels of dental caries, periodontal diseases, and tooth loss, but evidence on dental trauma is scarce. Furthermore, there is no report from Latin American countries. The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence of untreated traumatic dental injuries (TDI) among adult homeless people in a Brazilian capital city. A sample of 102 adults attending a public homeless shelter was clinically examined using the criteria of the 2010 Brazilian National Oral Health Survey. TDI was found in 10.8% of the participants, and the most common types of injury were enamel-dentin fractures and avulsion. The overall prevalence was relatively low, but the proportion of anterior tooth loss due to trauma and other reasons shows the need for more appropriate health care for this vulnerable population group.

What factors are associated with early childhood dental caries? A longitudinal study of the Growing Up in New Zealand cohort.

The relative importance of different strategies to prevent dental caries is not known. We explored the relationship between oral health behaviours, diet, and the incidence of dental caries. We conducted a study of children participating in the 'Growing Up in New Zealand' cohort. Exposures were oral health behaviours, a food frequency questionnaire, and sociodemographic characteristics that were recorded when the child was nine months and two years old. Outcomes were records of dental caries at ages four to seven years. 4111 children had dental examination records from between the ages of four and seven years. High levels of dental caries were reported in children of Pacific, Asian, and Māori ethnicity. Food frequency questionnaire information was summarised into two principal components. The major axis of variation was in the intake of food and drinks with high concentrations of sugar and refined starch, with this component strongly associated with caries (multivariable incidence rate ratio of caries 0.48; 95% confidence interval: 0.38-0.61, comparing the extreme quintiles of the first principal component). A diet high in sugar or refined starch was strongly linked to caries. Policies to reduce sugar and refined starch intake should be considered.

Early Introduction of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages and Caries Trajectories from Age 12 to 48 Months

Early exposure to sweet tastes predicts similar food preferences and eating behavior in later life and is associated with childhood obesity. The aim of this study was to explore the associations of early (during the first year of life) and subsequent intake of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) with 4-y caries trajectories among Scottish young children. We used data from 1,111 Scottish children who were followed annually from age 12 to 48 mo (4 sweeps in total). SSB intake was reported by parents in every sweep. SSB intake was broken down into 2 components, the initial SSB intake and the deviation over time from that initial value. Childhood dental caries was clinically determined (including noncavitated and cavitated lesions) every year. The association of SSB intake with baseline decayed, missing, and filled tooth surfaces (dmfs) (intercept) and rate of change in dmfs over time (slope) was examined in 2-level linear mixed-effects models, with repeated observations nested within children. Both the initial SSB intake and the deviation from the initial SSB intake were positively associated with steeper caries trajectories. By sweep 4, the predicted mean dmfs difference was 1.73 between children with low and high initial SSB intake (1 standard deviation below and above the mean) and 1.17 between children with low and high deviation from their initial SSB intake (1 SD below and above the mean). The findings of this prospective study among Scottish young children provide evidence that the introduction of SSBs during the first year of life can put children in a trajectory of high levels of dental caries. They support current recommendations to avoid sugars for very young children and interventions targeting early feeding practices for caries prevention.

The distribution of Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus sobrinus in children with dental caries severity level

Background: The prevalence of dental caries is high worldwide and specifically in Indonesia, especially in children. Cariogenic bacteria are the major cause of dental caries. Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) is one of the bacteria often associated with caries, due to its ability in producing acid and forming the biofilm for bacterial colonisation on the surface of oral cavities. In addition to S. mutans, Streptococcus sobrinus (S. sobrinus) bacteria are also thought to play an important role in the process of caries. Purpose: This study aims to analyse the distribution of S. mutans and S. sobrinus in children with seriously high dental caries levels. Methods: This study was an observational analytical study. Bacterial isolation was conducted in carious lesions of 50 paediatric patients 6-12 years old with superficial dental caries. Samples of caries lesions were put directly into a tube containing the Brain Heart Infusion Broth (BHI-B) and incubated at 37o C for 24 hours. The samples were sub-cultured on selective tryptone yeast cystine sucrose bacitracin (TYCSBHimedia) agar, and then incubated for two days. Bacterial identification was then performed using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) Multiplex method. Statistical analysis with Chi-square. Results: The total number of children with dental caries included in this study was 50. Among these, 94% showed positive for S. mutans and 30% positive for S. sobrinus. The analysis of the prevalence of bacterial colonisation (S. mutans and S. sobrinus) based on caries severity and the Simplified Oral Hygiene Index (OHI-S), showed there was no significant difference (p> 0.05). Conclusion: This study showed that among 50 caries noted in the children, 94% were colonised S. mutans and 30% S. sobrinus. There was no significant difference between the colonisation of S. mutans and S. sobrinus among children from the severe to mild decayed exfoliated filling teeth (DEFT) category, and between bad and good OHI-S.

Teledentistry as a novel pathway to improve dental health in school children: a research protocol for a randomised controlled trial

BackgroundDespite great improvement in child oral health, some children subgroups still suffer from higher levels of dental caries. Geographic and socioeconomic barriers and the lack of access to dental care services are among common reasons for poor oral health in children. Historically in Australia, oral health therapists or dental therapists have been responsible for providing dental care for school children through the School Dental Services (SDS). The current SDS has been unable to provide sustainable dental care to all school children due to a reduction in workforce participation and limited resources. We propose a paradigm shift in the current service through the introduction of user-friendly technology to provide a foundation for sustainable dental care for school children.Methods/designWe describe an ongoing parallel, two-armed, non-inferiority randomised controlled trial that compares routine and teledental pathway of dental care in children aged 4–15 years (n = 250). Participating schools in Western Australia will be randomly assigned to the control or teledental group, approximately three schools in each group with a maximum of 45 children in each school. All participants will first receive a standard dental examination to identify those who require urgent referrals and then their teeth will be photographed using a smartphone camera. At the baseline, children in the control group will receive screening results and advice on the pathway of dental care based on the visual dental screening while children in the teledental group will receive screening results based on the assessment of dental images. At 9 months follow-up, all participants will undergo a final visual dental screening. The primary outcomes include decay experience and proportion of children become caries active. The secondary outcomes include the diagnostic performance of photographic dental assessment and costs comparison of two pathways of dental care.DiscussionThe current project seeks to take advantage of mobile technology to acquire dental images from a child’s mouth at school settings and forwarding images electronically to an offsite dental practitioner to assess and prepare dental recommendations remotely. Such an approach will help to prioritise high-risk children and provide them with a quick treatment pathway and avoid unnecessary referrals or travel.Trial registrationAustralian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN12619001233112. Registered 06 September 2019.

Influence of socioeconomic inequalities on levels of dental caries in adolescents: A cohort study.

Socioeconomic factors at both contextual and individual levels influence health. Evaluate the influence of socioeconomic inequalities on the incidence of dental caries in adolescents. This cohort study was conducted with a multistage random sample of 1134 12-year-old adolescents from Southern Brazil. The experience of dental caries was assessed according to the decayed, missed, or filled surfaces (DMF-S) index. The Basic Education Development Index (IDEB) was collected during baseline as a school-level variable. Individual variables included demographic, socioeconomic, behavior-related, and oral health measures. Multilevel Poisson regression analysis through a hierarchical approach was used to explore the influence of exploratory variables on the mean of decayed surfaces. 770 14-year-old adolescents were reevaluated (follow-up rate of 68%) after 2years. Examiner's Kappa values for the assessment of dental caries ranged from 0.81 to 0.90. Adolescents with low household income and lower school's IDEB had higher mean of decayed surfaces. Non-white adolescents, lower frequency of dental attendance, parents' poor perception of child's oral health, and dental plaque were also associated with the incidence of dental caries. Adolescents from a lower socioeconomic background and poor school context had higher levels of dental caries over time.

Indicators of Risk for Dental Caries in Children: A Holistic Approach.

Dental caries in children is a major public health problem worldwide, with a multitude of determinants acting upon children to different degrees in different communities. The objective of this study was to determine maternal, environmental, and intraoral indicators of dental caries experience in a sample of 6- to 7-y-old children in South East Queensland, Australia. A total of 174 mother-child dyads were recruited for this cross-sectional study from the Griffith University Environments for Healthy Living birth cohort study. Maternal education, employment status, and prepregnancy body mass index were maternal indicators, and annual household income was taken as a proxy for environmental indicators. These were collected as baseline data of the study. Clinical data on children's dental caries experience, saliva characteristics of buffering capacity, stimulated flow rate, and colony-forming units per milliliter of salivary mutans streptococci were collected for the oral health substudy. Univariate analysis was performed with 1-way analysis of variance and chi-square tests. Caries experience was the outcome, which was classified into 4 categories based on the number of carious tooth surfaces. Ordinal logistic regression was used to explore the association of risk indicators with caries experience. Age (P = 0.021), low salivary buffering capacity (P = 0.001), reduced levels of salivary flow rate (P = 0.011), past caries experience (P = 0.001), low annual household income; <$30,000 (P = 0.050) and <$60,000 (P = 0.033) and maternal employment status (P = 0.043) were associated with high levels of dental caries. These data support the evidence of associations between maternal, environmental, and children's intraoral characteristics and caries experience among children in a typical Western industrialized country. All of these need to be considered in preventative strategies within families and communities. The results of this study can be used by clinicians, epidemiologists, and policy makers to identify children who are at risk of developing dental caries. With consideration of costs for treatment for the disease, this information could be used to plan cost-effective and patient-centered preventive care.

Hubungan antara tingkat pengetahuan karies gigi dengan indeks DMF-T pada siswa kelas V SD Negeri Walitelon Utara Temanggung

Ages 5 to 12 years are the age group that is susceptible to caries. The high caries prevalence rate of 42.6% reflects the low level of knowledge about dental health. The knowledge about dental and oral health will indirectly influence the health of the teeth and mouth so that it can prevent dental caries. The knowledge is used as a self-education to achieve the optimal dental and oral health. To find out the relationship between the dental caries knowledge level with the DMF-T Index. This research used the analytic survey with the cross-sectional data collection. This research was conducted in December 2018 to January 2019. The population in this research was the 5th grade students of the North Walitelon State Elementary School. The samples of this research were the 39 5th-grade students with the total sampling. The research instruments were questionnaire and the DMF-T Index examination format. The data were analyzed using the Kendall’s tau-b correlation test. The level of knowledge with the good criteria had a low DMF-T Index of 92.3%, the moderate was as much as 2.6%, and the fair knowledge level had a low DMF-T Index of 5.1%. The Kendall’s tau-b test results showed a relationship between the dental caries knowledge level and the DMF-T Index, and the obtained p value = 0,000 (p &lt; 0.05). The high knowledge level of dental caries affected the results of the DMF-T index.

Caries prevalence, clinical consequences and self-reported pain experienced by children living in the West Bank

AimTo investigate both caries prevalence and clinical consequences experienced by deprived children in the West Bank, using a child-centred approach.Materials and methodsChildren were invited by their social workers to attend free dental screening sessions held across clinics in the north of the West Bank. Data were collected using the dmft/DMFT and pufa/PUFA indices. Dental pain was reported by children using the Wong-Baker FACES® pain scale. Data were analysed using SPSS Version 22.0.ResultsData were collected for 177 children aged 4 to 18 years. Caries prevalence was 95.5% with only eight children presenting clinically caries-free. The sample had a dmft of 3.88, and DMFT of 3.44. The Care Index was calculated at 0.1 (mft/dmft). Clinical consequences of caries were identified in 64% of the sample, with a mean pufa score of 2.12, and a PUFA score of 0.55. Dental pain was experienced by 45% of children.ConclusionDeprived children living in the West Bank experience high levels of untreated dental caries, with significant clinical consequences and self-reported pain.

Dental caries experience and related factors among a clustered random sample of students in occupied Palestinian territory: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundDental caries is still the most prevalent chronic disease worldwide. In the occupied Palestinian territory, data about oral health status and its determinants are scarce. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of dental caries and associated factors among schoolchildren in a random sample of marginalised schools in the West Bank. MethodsMarginalised schools (according to the School Support Program [SPP] criteria) were stratified by district, gender, and grade level to select a random sample of 20 schools. Students in the sixth and ninth grades were interviewed by senior dental students about their oral hygiene and diet habits. Students' weight, height, gingival health, and dental caries experience were assessed. Senior dental students were trained and calibrated to carry out the interviews and the examinations. Parental informed consents were collected by school administrative staff. Ethics approval for the study was obtained from the Al-Quds University Scientific Research Ethics Committee. FindingsIn total, 1282 students completed the interviews and the clinical screening. The mean decayed, missing and filled teeth (DMFT) index was 6·4 (SD 4·4). According to the WHO dental caries experience classification, 49% (309 of 623) of the sixth grade students and 74% (484 of 658) of the ninth grade students fell in the high and very high categories. The mother's level of education and recent visit to the dentist correlated negatively with DMFT score (ρ=–0·06, p=0·029; ρ=–0·063, p=0·024). BMI was correlated positively with DMFT (r=0·092, p=0·001). Drinking milk and fresh juices was related to lower DMFT scores (r=–0·077, p=0·006 and r=–0·072, p=0·010). In the final model, grade (β=0·314, p<0·0001), gender (β=0·058, p=0·034), recent visit to the dentist (β=–0·059, p=0·029) and drinking fresh juices (β=–0·054, p=0·047) were significant factors in explaining the high level of dental caries in this sample. InterpretationStudents in the marginalised schools of the West Bank have high DMFT scores that indicate high prevalence of dental caries. Access to dental care and bad oral health habits are associated with high disease prevalence. Interventions to improve access to care and increase awareness about healthy diet and hygiene habits are crucial to alleviate the burden of oral disease in this population. FundingAMIDEAST School Support Program (SSP).

Oral health status and Unmet Restorative Treatment Needs (UTN) in disadvantaged migrant and not migrant children in Italy.

Despite a global decline in caries experience in children, dental caries remains a common and persistent public health problem, being more prevalent among socioeconomically disadvantaged groups. The aim of this survey is to evaluate DMFT index, caries prevalence and Unmet Restorative Treatment Needs (UNT) index in migrant and not migrant children with low income, in Campania region (Italy), in order to plan and build up strategies for promoting dental health in children and adequate health care for vulnerable groups. A sample of 553 children (age range: 12-14 years old) were recruited from volunteer patients at a charitable foundation in Naples (Italy) and were categorised into 2 subgroups, according to their status of "migrant" or "not migrant". Parents completed a questionnaire in order to investigate demographic and oral health behaviour. The participants were healthy and from low family income levels. DMFT scores and caries prevalence were calculated; UNT index was also calculated [D?(D + F)]%. The mean DMFT values related to the examined variables were calculated using one-way ANOVA. Mean DMFT and UTN index were 3.92±2.92 and 86.3% for migrants, and 3.29±3.21 and 68.4% for not migrants, respectively. The difference in the mean DMFT between the two groups was statistically significant (p=.027). Caries prevalence was 77.5% and 55.9% in the migrant group and in the not migrant group, respectively. High DMFT values were statistically associated to history of previous dental visit, sugar intake, brushing teeth once a day, and low mothers' educational level for both groups. Economically disadvantaged children showed high levels of dental caries. Furthermore, DMFT values, caries prevalence and unmet restorative treatment needs index among migrant children were higher than that of not migrant. In order to reduce inequalities in dental caries experience, there is a need to design policies aimed at primary prevention through health promotion programmes.