Ademe Dawit, Admassu Desalegn, Balakrishnan Senthilkumar
Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, College of Health and Medical Sciences, Haramaya University, P.O. Box: 235, Harar, Ethiopia.
Department of Medical Microbiology, College of Health and Medical Sciences, Haramaya University, P.O. Box: 235, Harar, Ethiopia.
BMC Pediatr. 2020 Jan 16;20(1):18. doi: 10.1186/s12887-020-1921-9.
Lactobacillus spp. play a major role in the development of dental caries. Although effective methods are known for the prevention and management of dental caries, its prevalence of dental caries is increasing amongst school-age children in Ethiopia. Hence, this study is aimed to determine the association of salivary Lactobacillus spp. level and oral health factors as determinants of dental caries amongst primary school children in Harar town, Eastern Ethiopia.
A cross-sectional study was conducted amongst primary school children (n = 407) using a questionnaire survey, clinical DMFT (decayed, missing, filled tooth number) examination and enumeration of salivary level Lactobacillus spp. Data were analyzed by SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Science software- version 25.0). The odds ratio was used to determine the predictors of the outcome. The data were expressed as mean ± SD. Statistical significance was defined as a p-value of less than 0.05.
The prevalence of dental caries was found to be 36.9% amongst primary school children. The mean DMFT value of the participants was 0.95 ± 1.57. The dental decay component was the primary observation that accounted for 84.6% of the DMFT. Almost, 67% of the saliva culture revealed a significant amount of Lactobacillus spp.
The mean bacterial count was found to be 14.92 × 10 ± 22.92 × 10. Among various parameters analysed for association with dental caries, a number of them show positive associtation, incluing reduction in academic scores in the prevous academic year (p = 0.034), grade levels of school children 1-4 (p = 0.041), sweet food consumption habit (p = 0.003), absence of daily teeth cleaning habit (p = 0.002), absence of toothpaste use (p = 0.001), dental ache history (p = < 0.001), significant microbial load of salivary Lactobacillus spp. (p = < 0.001), acidic (p = 0.028) and basic salivary pH (p = 0.025).
A significant salivary Lactobacillus count associated with lower grade level, sweet diet, and poor oral hygiene were found to be the determinant factors for dental caries. Thus, dissemination of oral health information is obligatory to prevent dental caries amongst primary school children in the study area.
乳杆菌属在龋齿的发展中起主要作用。尽管已知预防和管理龋齿的有效方法，但埃塞俄比亚学龄儿童的龋齿患病率仍在上升。因此，本研究旨在确定埃塞俄比亚东部哈勒尔镇小学生唾液中乳杆菌属水平与作为龋齿决定因素的口腔健康因素之间的关联。
对小学生（n = 407）进行了一项横断面研究，采用问卷调查、临床DMFT（龋、失、补牙数）检查和唾液中乳杆菌属水平计数。数据采用SPSS（社会科学统计软件包 - 版本25.0）进行分析。比值比用于确定结果的预测因素。数据以均值±标准差表示。统计学显著性定义为p值小于0.05。
发现小学生的龋齿患病率为36.9%。参与者的平均DMFT值为0.95±1.57。龋坏部分是主要观察指标，占DMFT的84.6%。几乎67%的唾液培养显示有大量乳杆菌属。
发现平均细菌计数为14.92×10±22.92×10。在分析的与龋齿相关的各种参数中，其中一些显示出正相关，包括上一学年学业成绩下降（p = 0.034）、1 - 4年级学龄儿童（p = 0.041）、甜食消费习惯（p = 0.003）、无每日刷牙习惯（p = 0.002）、不使用牙膏（p = 0.001）、牙痛病史（p = <0.001）、唾液中乳杆菌属的显著微生物负荷（p = <0.001）、酸性（p = 0.028）和碱性唾液pH值（p = 0.025）。
发现唾液中乳杆菌属计数显著与低年级、甜食饮食和不良口腔卫生相关，是龋齿的决定因素。因此，传播口腔健康信息对于预防研究地区小学生的龋齿是必不可少的。
