BackgroundDental caries is still a health problem worldwide, its prevalence and incidence are associated with various factors like age, sex, social status, dietary patterns and oral hygiene habits.MethodologyA Secondary data collected from outreaches done by UR CMHS, School of Dentistry at Kimironko II Primary School was analyzed. This secondary data had been obtained using structured questionnaires with close ended questions. Clinical examination had also been done to gather information. SPSS statistical software package version 22 was used to analyse data from Community outreach done at Kimironko Primary School in August 2019.ResultsThe prevalence of dental caries of 42.4% was found among children aged 6-12 years old of Kimironko II Primary School. The researchers found the following to be statistically significantly associated with prevalence of dental caries: gender (p=0.042), dental visits (p=0.001), and use of chew sticks or miswaks (p=0.041). Females were 1.4 times more likely to develop dental caries (OR: 1.462; 95% CI: 1.16-2.017; p=0.021) and children who did not use toothpick were 2 times more likely to develop dental caries (OR: 2.149; 95%CI: 1.251-4.395; p=0.036), whereas visiting a dental practitioner was protective against dental caries (OR: 0.362, 95% CI: 0.251-0.516; p=0.001).ConclusionDental caries is prevalent among children of Kimironko II Primary School. Appropriate preventive measures should be taken to protect those found to be exposed.Rwanda J Med Health Sci 2021;4(3):341-346
Superstition is a belief that is not based on scientific knowledge. Traditional healers usually use superstition in their practices to manage human health problems and diseases; such practices create a conflict with the medical profession and its evidence-based practices. Medical professionals confirm that this kind of practice is unsafe as it is performed by untrained people (e.g., traditional healers) utilizing unsterilized instruments within unhygienic environments. Most of the cases eventually develop a variety of complications, which are sometimes fatal. Female genital mutilation, uvulectomy, oral mutilation (tooth bud extraction to cure “Ibyinyo”), and eyebrow incisions are examples of the many different types of superstitious practices which occur commonly in other parts of the world. We describe how these traditional practices of superstition have been and continue to be performed in various parts of the world, their complications on oral and general health, and how such practices hinder modern medical practices and highlight huge inequalities and disparities in healthcare-seeking behavior among different social groups. This paper aims to increase health literacy and awareness of these superstition-driven traditional and potentially harmful practices by promoting the importance of evidence-based medical practices.
Background Dental traumas are widely prevalent in contact sports and are among the main public oral health concerns. They are attributed to nonuse and/or insufficient use of mouth guards, as protective means, for players in the game. Objectives The study aims to assess the prevalence of dental traumas among the contact sports and to determine the significance of using mouth guards in the prevention of such traumas. Methodology This was a cross sectional study conducted on the selected sports games in Kigali city, Rwanda. Data were collected using semi-structured questionnaires and analysed for any associations between independent variables and dependent variable with chi-square and logistic regression tests. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21 was used for the analysis. Results The prevalence of dental trauma was 58.9% among contact sports players in Kigali. Most respondents had information about mouth guards (94.7%) and many of them (62.2%) affirmed they could prevent dental traumas. This study has shown a significant association between dental traumas and mouth-guard use where players who did not use mouthguards were 5.8 times more likely to have dental traumas compared to those who used them regularly [OR=5.81;95% CI=2.44-13.82; p<0.001]. Conclusion A high prevalence of dental traumas was observed among the players despite the proven protection of using mouthguards. Therefore, putting emphasis on regular use of mouthguards would result in a huge reduction of risk and keep those traumas to a minimum. Rwanda J Med Health Sci 2022;5(3):315-322
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