School of Nursing and Midwifery, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Rwanda, Kigali, Rwanda.
School of Nursing and Midwifery, Adult Health and Critical Care, Aga Khan University, Kampala, Uganda.
BMC Oral Health. 2024 Nov 24;24(1):1433. doi: 10.1186/s12903-024-05225-2.
Dental diseases pose a global health problem that significantly affects overall well-being and quality of life. They are frequently neglected in many regions, despite the availability of preventive measures and it remains unclear whether these measures are effectively implemented in practice. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate dental health practices among primary school children in both rural and urban areas of Rwanda.
A cross-sectional study was conducted on 195 school children including 96 from a rural area and 99 from an urban area. Data were collected through a questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS version 21. To compare practices between the rural and urban groups, Fisher's exact test was utilized, with a significance level set at 0.05.
The findings show significant differences in dental health practices between rural and urban areas, revealing that rural children were less likely to visit the dentist regularly (p = 0.026) and had a higher frequency of sugary drink consumption (p = 0.002). Additionally, disparities were found in the materials used for tooth brushing (p < 0.001) and the timing of toothbrush replacement (p = 0.011), indicating that rural children often use inappropriate brushing materials and replace their toothbrushes less frequently.
This study highlights significant differences in dental health practices between rural and urban children in Rwanda. Rural children were less likely to visit the dentist, consumed more sugary drinks, and used inappropriate brushing materials with less frequent toothbrush replacement. These findings underscore the need for targeted interventions to improve oral health awareness and practices especially in rural areas.
口腔疾病是一个全球性的健康问题，严重影响整体健康和生活质量。尽管有预防措施，但在许多地区，这些疾病经常被忽视，目前尚不清楚这些措施在实践中是否得到有效实施。因此，本研究旨在评估卢旺达农村和城市地区小学生的口腔健康实践。
对包括 96 名农村地区儿童和 99 名城市地区儿童在内的 195 名在校儿童进行了横断面研究。通过问卷调查收集数据，并使用 SPSS 版本 21 进行分析。为了比较农村和城市组之间的实践，使用 Fisher 精确检验，显著性水平设为 0.05。
研究结果表明，农村和城市地区的口腔健康实践存在显著差异，表明农村儿童定期看牙医的可能性较低（p=0.026），而且含糖饮料的摄入量更高（p=0.002）。此外，在刷牙材料（p<0.001）和牙刷更换时间（p=0.011）方面也存在差异，表明农村儿童通常使用不合适的刷牙材料，而且更换牙刷的频率较低。
本研究强调了卢旺达农村和城市儿童口腔健康实践的显著差异。农村儿童看牙医的可能性较低，含糖饮料摄入量较高，使用的刷牙材料不合适，而且牙刷更换频率较低。这些发现强调了需要针对农村地区开展口腔健康意识和实践的干预措施。
