John J Baby, Asokan Sharath, Aswanth K P, Priya P R Geetha, Shanmugaavel A K
Department of Paediatric Dentistry, KSR Institute of Dental Science and Research, Tiruchengode , Tamil Nadu, India.
J Public Health Res. 2015 Mar 9;4(1):361. doi: 10.4081/jphr.2015.361. eCollection 2015 Feb 20.
The study was planned to assess the prevalence of dental caries among tribal, suburban and urban children of Tiruchengode and Erode of Tamil Nadu state, India. The objective of the study was to assess the association of dental caries with family background, dental service availability, transportation and knowledge on preventive dental measures among these three groups.
Cross-sectional study. A total of 1028 school children in the age range of 9-12 years from various government schools located in Palamalai and Kolli Hills (tribal), Tiruchengode (suburban) and Erode (urban), Tamil Nadu, were included in the study. Decayed, filled, and missing teeth (DMFT), decayed and filled teeth (dft) and Significant Caries Index were recorded. A specially prepared questionnaire was used to record all the data regarding oral hygiene practices, socioeconomic background, dental treatment availability, parent's education level were used for the study. ANOVA t-test and post hoc test were used for comparing quantitative variables between the 3 subgroups.
The tribal school children had 89.3% caries prevalence, where as it was 77% in suburban and 55% in urban school children. The mean DMFT score among tribal, suburban and urban school children were statistically significant different (P=0.001) between the three groups. There was a highly significant difference (P=0.001) in the mean DMFT score based on brushing frequency. There was a statistically significant difference (P=0.018) in the mean DMFT scores in the urban group based on the mothers education status. There were no statistically significant differences in the mean DMFT scores based on the presence or absence of television in their house and the parents' income.
Oral hygiene practices, dietary habits and access to dental care services played an important role in prevalence of dental caries. It was observed that the socioeconomic status, parents' educational status and mass media influenced the oral health of these children but without a significant contribution. Significance for public healthIt was observed from the present study that the socioeconomic status, parents' educational status, media and family structure influence the oral health of children in under-privileged communities. Oral hygiene practices, dietary habits and access to dental care services also play an important role in the prevalence of dental caries among children. Children of government schools in Tamil Nadu, India, don't get adequate information on oral health, related diseases and methods of prevention. Oral health education and health promotion should be mandatory for all school children.
本研究旨在评估印度泰米尔纳德邦蒂鲁琴戈德和埃罗德地区部落、郊区及城市儿童的龋齿患病率。研究目的是评估这三组儿童中龋齿与家庭背景、牙科服务可及性、交通状况以及预防性牙科措施知识之间的关联。
横断面研究。研究纳入了来自泰米尔纳德邦帕拉马莱和科利山（部落地区）、蒂鲁琴戈德（郊区）和埃罗德（城市）各政府学校的1028名9至12岁学龄儿童。记录龋、补、失牙数（DMFT）、龋补牙数（dft）和显著龋失补牙指数。使用一份专门编制的问卷记录所有关于口腔卫生习惯、社会经济背景、牙科治疗可及性、父母教育水平的数据用于研究。采用方差分析t检验和事后检验比较三个亚组之间的定量变量。
部落学龄儿童的龋齿患病率为89.3%，而郊区儿童为77%，城市学龄儿童为55%。部落、郊区和城市学龄儿童的平均DMFT得分在三组之间存在统计学显著差异（P = 0.001）。基于刷牙频率的平均DMFT得分存在高度显著差异（P = 0.001）。基于母亲教育状况，城市组的平均DMFT得分存在统计学显著差异（P = 0.018）。基于家中是否有电视以及父母收入情况，平均DMFT得分无统计学显著差异。
口腔卫生习惯、饮食习惯和获得牙科护理服务的机会在龋齿患病率中起重要作用。据观察，社会经济地位、父母教育状况和大众媒体对这些儿童的口腔健康有影响，但贡献不显著。对公共卫生的意义从本研究中观察到，社会经济地位、父母教育状况、媒体和家庭结构影响贫困社区儿童的口腔健康。口腔卫生习惯、饮食习惯和获得牙科护理服务的机会在儿童龋齿患病率中也起重要作用。印度泰米尔纳德邦政府学校的儿童未获得足够的关于口腔健康、相关疾病及预防方法的信息。所有学龄儿童都应强制接受口腔健康教育和健康促进。
