Magnitude of Dental Caries and Its Associated Factors Among Governmental Primary School Children in Debre Berhan Town, North-East Ethiopia

Assessment of Oral Health in a Child Cohort of a Rural Zone of Ethiopia

Health conditions in a developing state such as Ethiopia are precarious; in addition to the extreme spread of infectious diseases such as AIDS, oral health is also affected by the scarce knowledge and possibility of treatment. This analysis considered 77 children aged 7 to 11 from a primary school in Guraghe in Ethiopia. The presence of plaque, calculus, and caries was evaluated. For each caries, the affected tooth and the site of onset were considered. Plaque was detected in 39% of the children, calculus in 22%, and dental caries in 48% of the patients. The cavities were found to be equally distributed between the two arches, with a prevalence of location in the deciduous teeth and in the occlusal area. The implementation of home oral hygiene education and the training of health professionals who successfully promote oral health is necessary.

Application of the integrated behavioral model to identify the predictors of toothbrushing practices among primary school children at Bahir Dar city, Ethiopia

Knowing the level of behavioral intention and tooth-brushing practices is crucial for the implementation of the intervention. However, such studies are too limited in Ethiopia. The current study employed a health behavior model to identify predictors that can serve to support primary school children's attitudes, intentions, knowledge, environmental constraints, and practices of tooth brushing. Thus, this study aimed to assess tooth brushing practices and their predictors among primary school children in Bahir Dar city, Ethiopia. An Institutional based cross-sectional study was conducted among primary school children in Bahir Dar city. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 610 participants. Data were collected using pre-tested interviewer-administered questionnaires. Questionnaires adapted from items' previous literature were used for integrated behavioral model constructs incorporated with elicitation study results. Data were entered into Epi data and then analyzed by Stata. Descriptive statistics were done. Confirmatory factor analysis was performed to check the convergent validity of the measurement. The Internal reliability of the items was also checked using composite reliability. Multivariable logistic regression was used to predict the role of independent variables in toothbrushing practices. Moreover, path analysis was performed to check the causal effect of integrated behavioral model constructs on toothbrushing practices. The goodness of fit of the final model was checked using the Hosmer and Lemeshow test of best fit with a large p value = 0.97 and Area under receiver operating characteristics curve = 0.98. The overall prevalence of the current practice of toothbrushing among the respondents was 45.4%. The prevalence of brushing frequency was 243 (89.01%), 27 (9.89%), and 3 (1.09%) brushed once a day, twice a day, and more than twice a day respectively. Female child's [AOR 3.23, 95% CI 1.48-7.02], mothers' education [AOR 4.6; 95% CI 1.22-17.44], past experience of toothbrushing [AOR 0.042; CI 0.018-0.101], knowledge about tooth brushing practices [AOR 1.3; 95% CI 1.09-1.60], behavioral intention [AOR 2.01; 95% CI 1.74-2.32], experiential attitude [AOR 1.09; 95% CI 1.01-1.17],instrumental attitude [AOR 1.02; 95% CI 1.01-1.03], and descriptive norm [AOR 1.07; 95% CI 1.01-1.14] were predictors of toothbrushing practices. The findings indicate that the practice of toothbrushing practices among primary school students was low. Sex, mother's education, knowledge, intention, experience, experiential attitude, instrumental attitude, and descriptive norm, have significant effects on toothbrushing practices; indicating that the integrated behavioral model showed adequate utility in predicting toothbrushing practices in the study area. School-based toothbrushing practices change interventions such as communication strategy.

Dental caries and associated factors among diabetic and nondiabetic adult patients attending Bichena Primary Hospital’s Outpatient Department

Purpose

Dental caries is a significant public health issue affecting both the diabetic and nondiabetic populations. However, the problem and associated factors of dental caries among diabetics and nondiabetics patients are not well-known in Ethiopia. This study aims to compare the prevalence of dental caries and associated factors among diabetic and nondiabetic patients at the Outpatient Department of Bichena Primary Hospital in Northwest, Ethiopia.

Methods

Institutional based, comparative cross-sectional study was conducted from October 7 to December 6, 2019, among 200 diabetes and 400 nondiabetic adult patients. A consecutive sampling technique was implemented to recruit study participants. Data were collected by a pretested structured questionnaire and analysis was performed in Statistical Package for Social Science version 20. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regressions were employed and variables with a p-value < 0.05 were declared statistically significant.

Results

A total of 582 patients were involved in the study with a response rate of 97.0%. The prevalence of dental caries was 67.9% [95% confidence interval (CI): 63.2%–72.8%] and 79.6% (95% CI: 74.0%–85.70%) in nondiabetic and diabetic group, respectively. Females gender [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.79, 95% CI: 1.15–2.77], poor oral hygiene (AOR = 2.95, 95% CI: 1.71–5.11), lack of regular teeth cleaning habits (AOR = 3.26, 95% CI: 2.13–4.97), feeling dry mouth (AOR = 2.31, 95% CI: 1.11–4.81), sugared tea drinking (AOR = 2.00, 95% CI: 1.18–3.38), inadequate oral health knowledge (AOR = 3.51, 95% CI: 2.19–5.62), and khat chewing (AOR = 2.14, 95% CI: 1.24–3.71) were significantly associated factors with high prevalence of dental caries.

Conclusion

The prevalence of caries was significantly higher among diabetics than nondiabetics. Oral health education with preventive measures such as improving teeth cleaning practice, reducing sugary foods and drinks intake, and improving oral hygiene practice of patients should be mainstreamed along with diabetic follow-up care.

Oral Health Status of Hearing-Impaired Students Attending Special Need Schools in Amhara Region, Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background

Oral health care is the most common unmet need among individuals with a disability. Individuals with a disability may have compromised oral health needs due to neglect from parents, socioeconomic problems, and communication barriers. In Ethiopia, there is a lack of data on oral health status of the hearing-impaired population. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the oral health status of hearing-impaired students in the Amhara region, Ethiopia.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2020 to April 2021 on hearing-impaired students in Amhara region, Ethiopia. Data were collected using a pretested interview administered questionnaire and clinical examination. Oral cavity was evaluated using the simplified oral hygiene index, decayed, missed and filled teeth, and community periodontal index. Data analysis was done using SPSS 26.0, and logistic regression analysis was done to identify the risk factors of dental caries and periodontal disease.

Results

A total of 149 hearing impaired students with an age range of 7–30 years were involved in the study. The prevalence of periodontal disease and dental caries was 22.8% (95% CI: 16.8, 30.4) and 38.9% (95% CI; 32.2, 46.9), respectively. Being grade 1–4 student (AOR = 3.94, 95%: 1.16, 13.38), lack of formal education (AOR = 4.98, 95% CI: 1.00, 24.65), dental caries (AOR = 2.51, 95% CI: 1.08, 5.08) and bleeding on probing (AOR = 9.98, 95% CI: 3.69, 26.64) were statistically significant with periodontal disease. Grade level, parents’ support during brushing, oral health status, and medication intake were independent factors for dental caries.

Conclusion

In the present study, a significant number of hearing-impaired students had periodontal disease and dental caries. School oral health programs and caregivers assisted oral hygiene practices are essential to combat oral health problems in hearing-impaired students. Moreover, a nationwide prospective study with a large sample size will be required to reflect the oral health status of hearing-impaired individuals in the country.

Dental caries and associated factors among Chinese children and adolescents: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Dental caries is a common disease under the action of many factors. Dental caries may occur in all age groups, among which children and adolescents are at high risk of dental caries. Early identification of the risk factors of dental caries is very important for clinical staff to prevent and intervene as soon as possible and reduce the incidence of dental caries. Although Chinese scholars have studied and summarized the risk factors of dental caries in children and adolescents, the conclusions are different. Therefore, in this study, meta-analysis was used to summarize the risk factors of dental caries in Chinese children and adolescents, and to explore the characteristics of high-risk groups of dental caries, so as to provide reference for early detection and prevention of dental caries.

METHODS

Medical specialty databases like PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, China Biology Medicine Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, China Science and Technology Journal Database, and Wanfang Database were consistently and exhaustively searched. According to the method of evidence-based medicine, the inclusion and exclusion criteria were established, and the meta-analysis of all eligible research results was carried out by using Review Manager 5.3 software.

RESULTS

We will disseminate the findings of this systematic review and meta-analysis via publications in peer-reviewed journals.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study was carried out to estimate the pooled prevalence of dental caries and its associated factors among Chinese children and adolescents.

OSF REGISTRATION NUMBER

DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/RA9D6.

Prevalence of Dental Caries and Associated Factors in East Africa, 2000-2020: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: Dental caries affects mastication, growth and development, and school attendance and has a long-term psychological effect on affected individuals. In developing countries, the prevalence of dental caries is increasing due to the growing consumption of sugary foods, poor tooth brushing habits, and a low level of awareness about dental caries. Even if there was a high prevalence of dental caries in sub-Saharan Africa, there is a paucity of data on the prevalence of dental caries in East Africa. Hence, this study aimed to determine the prevalence of dental caries and associated factors in East Africa. Methods: A systematic search of articles was conducted in MEDLINE, Scopus, and Google Scholar using all the synonyms of dental caries in published literature (until December 2020) in East Africa. Important data were extracted using a standardized data extraction form prepared in Excel. Stata software (version 14.0) was used to calculate the pooled prevalence of dental caries. Besides, subgroup analysis was done based on country and dentition type. Moreover, associated factors of dental caries were assessed and the overall effect was presented in the form of odds ratios. The quality of the included studies was evaluated using the Joanna Briggs Institute reviewers' manual. Results: The overall pooled prevalence of dental caries was found to be 45.7% (95% CI = 38.0-53.4). The pooled prevalence was high in Eritrea (65.2%, 95% CI = 49.2-81.1), followed by Sudan (57.8%, 95% CI = 36.0-79.7), and a low prevalence was found in Tanzania (30.7%, 95% CI = 21.5-39.9). Moreover, the subgroup analysis revealed a prevalence of 50% (95% CI = 38.4-62.1) in permanent dentition and 41.3% (95% CI = 33.5-49.2) in mixed dentition. The overall mean decayed, missed, and filled permanent (DMFT) and primary (dmft) teeth were 1.941 (95% CI = 1.561-2.322) and 2.237 (95% CI = 1.293-3.181), respectively. High DMFT scores were reported in Sudan (3.146, 95% CI = 1.050-5.242) and Uganda (2.876, 95% CI = 2.186-3.565). Being female (OR = 1.34, 95% CI = 1.24-1.46) and having poor tooth brushing habit (OR = 1.967, 95% CI = 1.67-2.33) were independent risk factors of dental caries. Conclusion: The overall prevalence of dental caries was comparatively high. Being female and poor oral health practice were independent risk factors of dental caries. The Ministry of Health of the member countries, along with dental associations of each country, ought to offer due attention to strengthen the oral health program in schools and primary health care centers and the implementation of school water fluoridation.