Oral health status of 12-year-old school children in Yemen. A cross- sectional survey

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ABSTRACT

Aim

This study aims to describe the oral hygiene practices and the oral health status of 12-year-old school
children of Aden, Yemen. Study Design: Multistage stratified cross-sectional survey.

Methods

A cross-
sectional survey of randomly selected schools in the city was performed. Four hundred 12-year-old students were recruited
in the study from both private (N. 200) and government schools (N. 200). In total 219 boys (54.8) and 181 girls
(45.2) participated in this study. Scoring of decayed, missing, filled teeth (DMFT) and the Community Periodontal
Index (CPI) scores were computed according to the WHO recommendations.

Results

Mean DMFT was 2.221.56
and DMFT >0 was seen in 90.2 of the study subjects. The D component of the caries index was dominant and it
was clinically evident in 84.7 of the students. Children having high cariogenic food consumption had significantly
(P<0.001) higher mean DMFT, DT, MT and FT. Children who used only toothbrush were found to have significantly (P<0.001) lower caries experience as compared to those who used only miswak or those who used both. About 63 of the students has CPI2 and less than 20 had CPI0. Children who brushed regularly were found to have better CPI scores. Multivariate analysis showed that diet (ORa 1.56; 95 CI 1.82-2.44) was significantly associated with dental caries. Statistics: data were analysed with Statistical Package for Social Sciences for Windows 17.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA).

Conclusion

The overall oral health of the 12-year-old school children is
poor. More emphasis has to be given school based and community based oral health promotion and preventive
programmes.

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