Bayesian model with application to a study of dental caries

Dental caries and associated factors in Ethiopia: systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Globally, dental caries may be a major public health issue which may be preventable. Many studies have been conducted on dental caries in Ethiopia which present inconsistent results.

OBJECTIVE

This meta-analysis was expected to consolidate the findings conducted in various regions of the country and generate country representative information on the burden and its associated factors of dental caries in Ethiopia.

METHODS

Our systematic review and meta-analysis was carried out to estimate the pooled prevalence of dental caries and its associated factors in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Medical specialty databases like ScienceDirect, HINARI, Embase, PubMed, Google Scholar, and Cochrane Library were consistently and exhaustively searched. To determine the aggregate prevalence, studies delineating the prevalence of dental caries and associated factors were included. Important data were extracted employing a standardized data extraction tool ready in Microsoft Excel and imported to the STATA version-13 statistical software package for analyses. To assess non-uniformity, the Cochrane Q test statistics and I2 test were performed respectively. A random effects model meta-analysis was accustomed to estimate the pooled burden of dental caries.

RESULTS

The result of thirteen studies disclosed that the overall prevalence of dental caries in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia was found to be 40.98 (31.62, 50.34). Within the subgroup analysis, the uppermost prevalence was determined in Tigray region (46.59% (24.64, 68.54)) whereas the bottom prevalence was determined in Addis Ababa (34.20% (8.42, 59.97)). Dental caries prevalence was considerably high among study subjects who consumed sweet food (OR= 2.4 (95% CI (1.91, 3.01))). But the presence of dental plaque (OR = 5.14 (95% CI (0.67, 39.39))) and habit of tooth- cleaning (OR = 0.71 (95% CI (0.17, 2.96))) were not statistically significant with the outcome of interest.

CONCLUSION

Our meta-analysis found that the prevalence of dental caries was comparatively high, and sweet food consumption was the most risk issue for dental caries in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Federal Ministry of Health ought to offer a lot of attention to strengthen the oral health care system and also the implementation of community-level interference programs.

Comparing factors affecting dental-implant loss between age groups: A retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND

There is a growing interest in factors leading to implant failure in older people as the population aged 65 years or older continues to expand.

PURPOSE

We sought to identify differences of results in the implant survival rate and the influence of certain factors on implant failure in the older (≥65 years) and younger (<65 years) patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Patients who underwent their first dental-implant surgery between July 2008 and June 2018 were included. Data on age, sex, smoking habits, medical conditions, implant location, implant size, and the presence and type of bone graft and membrane were collected and analyzed according to age group. Moreover, cumulative survival rates of implants (by Kaplan-Meier analysis) and hazard ratios (HR) of each factor (using Cox regression analysis with shared frailty) in each group were assessed and results compared between groups.

RESULTS

A total of 628 implants in 308 patients and 1904 implants in 987 patients in the older and younger groups, respectively, were assessed, with failure rates of 3.9% and 3.4%. Per Kaplan-Meier analysis, the 11-year patient-level cumulative survival rate of implant treatment was 95.3% (95% CI: 0.91-0.97) in the older and 93.9% (95% CI: 0.88-0.97) in the younger group. The HR for implant failure of the variables, except diameter of dental implants, were not statistically significant in both groups.

CONCLUSION

The outcomes of implant treatment were not considerably different between the age groups.