Oral health of 12-year-old Bangladeshi children
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1080/000163502753509536Keywords:
Bangladesh, Children, Dental, Caries, Oral, Health, HygieneAbstract
Previous dental caries studies in Bangladesh have been performed on non-randomized samples, using various clinical criteria. Estimates of dental caries prevalence in 12-year-olds are therefore uncertain. In the present study a clustered, stratified random sampling procedure was used. Dental caries was scored as DMFT in accordance with the WHO recommendations and related to oral hygiene and various behavioral and social variables. The caries experience was found to be low, with a mean DMFT score of 0.97. Poor oral hygiene and bleeding gingiva were frequently detected. Dental caries experience was associated with sex, oral hygiene (girls), and use of dental services (more caries among frequent users than non-users). A correlation matrix analyzing the most influential independent variables indicated that sex and oral hygiene seemed to have an independent effect, whereas a web of social factors interfered with the 'use of dental services' variable.
Acta Odontologica Scandinavica publishes original research papers as well as critical reviews relevant to the diagnosis, epidemiology, health service, prevention, aetiology, pathogenesis, pathology, physiology, microbiology, development and treatment of diseases affecting tissues of the oral cavity and associated structures including papers on cause and effect or explanatory/associative relationships for experimental or observational studies.
