Determinants of caries experience and the impact on the OHRQOL of 6-year-old Libyan children: a cross-sectional survey

Abstract

Objective The current study aimed to assess the caries experience and associated factors and its impact on the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) among 6-year-old Libyan children. Methods A cross-sectional survey including 706 six-year-old children was conducted in 2017 in Benghazi, Libya. Data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire assessing socioeconomic status and oral health behaviours, and the Arabic version of the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (A-ECOHIS) to assess the OHRQoL. Clinical examination assessed caries experience at tooth level (dmft) and the number of decayed, missing due to caries and filled teeth (dt, mt and ft). Poisson regression analysis was performed to determine the association between dmft scores and the independent predictors. Linear regression analysis was conducted for ECOHIS scores with the children’s gender, SES and OHB. The statistical significance was set to ≤ 0.05. Results Data were available for 706 children. Caries prevalence (dt) and dmft of ≥ 1 were 69.1% and 71% respectively. The mean ± SD dmft score was 3.23 ± 3.32. There was a significant and direct association between dmft scores and daily consumption of sugary snacks (B = 1.27, P = 0.011) and a significant inverse association with teethbrushing twice daily (B = 0.80, P = 0.041). There was a significant and direct association between A-ECOHIS and dmft (B = 1.14, P ≤ 0.001) and a significant and inverse association between A- ECOHIS and high and intermediate family income compared to low income (B = −3.82, P = 0.0001 and B = −2.06, P = 0.028). Conclusions 6-year-old Libyan children had a relatively high caries experience an untreated decay with impact on OHRQoL. Social disparities, sugar consumption patterns and oral hygiene practices were associated with high caries experience.

Deciduous and permanent dental caries status among primary schoolchildren of Libya: A cross-sectional study

“…Our data (86.6%) was higher than that found in previous studies conducted on Libyan children, 42.22%, 63.5%, 50%, 58%, 57.8%, 77.72% 49.0%, 55.8%, 74.7% [3,[10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17], respectively. Moreover, our data was higher than figures reported in more recent Libyan studies 45%, 71%, 78% [18][19][20], respectively. Therefore, the trend of dental caries in Libya has shown noticeable increase since the previous studies conducted in 1991 (42.22%) [3] to the figure in 2021 (78%) [20] up to our data in the present study (86.6%).…”

“…Other previous Libyan studies showed lower figures of mean dmft; 2.32 [10], 2.58 [12], 2.0 [15], 2.32 [13] and 2.72 [17]. But higher figure was found in recent studies in Libya, 3.23 [19], and 3.7 [20]. The mean dmft of the present study was in disagreement with that found in other studies conducted in other developing countries; higher than that found in Karachi (2.01) [24], in Syria (2.47) [26], in China (2.21) [38], but lower than that found in Egypt (3.23) [25], in Saudi Arabia (3.66) [39].…”

Effect of Parental Socioeconomic Indicators on Oral Health Related Quality of Life of their Children in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

“…Contrarily, maternal employment status was considered to be a potential socioeconomic indicator for OHRQoL in Generation R Cohort. In Ballo et al's study, children from higher income families had low OHRQoL impacts compared to their peers from lower socio-economic status (28). This is best explained by the effect of material deprivation on lifestyle and diet among poorer families.…”

Oral Health-Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) among groups of Foundling and Delinquent Children in comparison with mainstream children

“…Dental treatment under general anesthesia is a feasible option for uncooperative children, and this mode of administration will provide a single-visit solution for such children. 27 A Brazilian study 28 reported a negative association between child caries experience and quality of life (Brazilian ECOHIS, B-ECOHIS) among the mothers. Similar findings were evident with the present study, which compared foundling and delinquent children with mainstream children; however, the results were not comparable.…”