Dental caries pattern and predisposing oral hygiene related factors in Nigerian preschool children

Abstract

There appears to be no significant age related caries distribution pattern in Nigerian preschool children. The second primary molars appear to be more susceptible to caries in preschool children in Nigeria. The oral hygiene status appears to be a risk factor for rampant caries in these children.

Do maternal factors influence the dental health status of Nigerian pre‐school children?

“…For pre‐school children, maternal variables may equally impact on the aetiology of oral diseases like caries and periodontal diseases 1 . Although a previous study in the same environment as this study has identified that the pre‐school child’s oral health status is strongly associated with the mother’s caries status 14 , little is known about the factors that impact on the expression of this pre‐disposing factor.…”

Programme guidelines for promoting good oral health for children in Nigeria: a position paper

“…More older children and females use a combination of caries risk prevention tools [32]. The risk of caries increases with the frequency of daily consumption of sugar and with every score increase in oral hygiene index [25, 34]; it also decreases with use of fluoridated toothpaste [24]. …”

“…Other identified factors associated with the risk of caries among children in Nigeria include; infant feeding practices (children breastfed for more than 2 years have an increased risk for EEC) [35], maternal age (for every year increase in a mother’s age, the odds of the child developing caries increases by one fold) [36] and maternal attitude to oral health (the child’s risk of having caries is reduced by 15% with a unit increase in positive attitude of the mother) [34]. The residential location of the child also influences the form of caries risk the child is exposed to (children from urban areas area more likely to be breast fed on demand and at bedtime, while children from the rural area were more likely to be breast fed on schedule) [29].…”

Relationship between bmi and caries experience among 15 year old students in india – a cross sectional study

“…8 The mean DMFT of the subjects with fair oral hygiene status was significantly high when compared to subjects who were having good oral hygiene status which is in agreement with the previous studies. 30,31,32 The findings of this results can be attributed to the fact that good oral hygiene creates unfavourable environment for microbial colonization which is necessary for caries development. No significant difference was observed in mean DMFT between the subjects with different brushing frequency.…”