Akinyamoju Clara Arianta, Dairo David Magbagbeola, Adeoye Ikeola Adejoke, Akinyamoju Akindayo Olufunto
Department of Family Dentistry, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria.
Department of Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria.
Niger Postgrad Med J. 2018 Oct-Dec;25(4):239-245. doi: 10.4103/npmj.npmj_138_18.
Dental caries and poor oral hygiene cause pain and have an effect on activities of children such as playing, sleeping, eating and school attendance. Previous studies on the prevalence of dental caries and poor oral hygiene have focused more on urban than rural communities in the developing countries. The objective of the study was to assess dental caries and oral hygiene status of schoolchildren in rural communities.
It was a cross-sectional study involving 778 schoolchildren from 12 public primary schools. A pre-tested, semi-structured interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to obtain information on socio-demographics and oral health practice. Dental caries was assessed using the decayed, missing and filled teeth (DMFT) index and oral hygiene status by the simplified oral hygiene and gingival indices.
The mean age of the children was 11.0 ± 1.8 years, and the prevalence of dental caries was 12.2% with a mean DMFT/dmft of 0.2 ± 0.7. Children aged 10-12 years were 3 times more likely to have caries on ≥1 tooth (P = 0.01, confidence interval = 1.3-6.7). Herbal remedies were more often (35.3%) used to manage dental problems. The mean simplified oral hygiene and gingival indices were 1.7 ± 0.9 and 1.1 ± 0.5, respectively.
The occurrence of dental caries appears to be increasing in rural Nigerian schoolchildren, but still within WHO limits. Oral hygiene status was poor and gingivitis was common.
龋齿和口腔卫生状况差会引发疼痛，并对儿童的玩耍、睡眠、饮食和上学等活动产生影响。以往关于龋齿患病率和口腔卫生状况差的研究更多地关注发展中国家的城市社区而非农村社区。本研究的目的是评估农村社区学童的龋齿和口腔卫生状况。
这是一项横断面研究，涉及来自12所公立小学的778名学童。使用经过预测试的、由访谈员管理的半结构化问卷来获取社会人口统计学和口腔健康习惯方面的信息。采用龋失补牙（DMFT）指数评估龋齿情况，并用简化口腔卫生指数和牙龈指数评估口腔卫生状况。
儿童的平均年龄为11.0±1.8岁，龋齿患病率为12.2%，平均DMFT/dmft为0.2±0.7。10至12岁的儿童患一颗及以上龋齿的可能性是其他儿童的3倍（P = 0.01，置信区间 = 1.3 - 6.7）。使用草药疗法治疗牙齿问题的情况更为常见（35.3%）。简化口腔卫生指数和牙龈指数的平均值分别为1.7±0.9和1.1±0.5。
尼日利亚农村学童的龋齿发生率似乎在上升，但仍在世卫组织规定的范围内。口腔卫生状况较差，牙龈炎较为常见。
